Dreamchaser - the Return of the Relic Hunters (On Hiatus)
by FuzzyBeta
Summary: When Via Summers is offered a place in the new Stark Internship Program, she never thought she'd end up working with the Avengers. Between adjusting to a new home, searching for a mystical scepter, fighting secret organizations and digging into the mystery behind her birth mother's secret past, will Via crack under pressure? And what exactly is project Ultron? (rated T for safety)
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! it's me the author.**

 **Usually i do authors notes at the end of my chapters but seeing as this is the first chapter of a new fic i've got a couple of things i'd like to say before we get started.**

 **LEASE READ THIS BEFORE READING ON I'TS IMPORTANT!**

 **Just a quick disclaimer to prove lack of ownership of anything marvel. (My ocs and any other original stuff obviously belongs to me)**

 **Also a quick explanation, this is a sequel fic to my previous Doctor Strange FanFiction "Dreamcatcher - Rise of the Spider Sorcress". You can find it on my profile.**

 **I strongly recommend you read it if you want to know more about my OC Via's origins. But don't worry, even if you don't want to read it i'll probably re-explain more about her over the course of this fanfic.**

 **And now that's over and done with, please read and enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Do-mystic bliss**

 _I used to think that to have a happy family I needed a mom and dad. That if I found my birth parents, or in fact any parents that wanted me, that somehow, I'd live happily ever after._

 _But I know better now. Families come in all shapes and sizes. Mine is no exception._

 _Hi, my name's Olivia Freyja Summers-Sorenson-Strange, and this is my new Video log, or V-log (Via-log? Whatever let's get on with this)._

 _I know I've got a lot of last names but it's not too bad. The last time I talked on this camera thing I told you guys about my beginnings, or my "origin story" so to speak._

 _When I first started this V-log months ago, I told you guys how I got taken in off the street, got trained by a mystical secret "not-a-cult" society where I learned magic and martial arts, helped fight off a few mad rogue sorcerers and finally became the apprentice to the new Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange._

 _I know Sorcerer Supreme does sound like a weird pizza topping, but really it's so much more than that. It's the Sorcerer Supreme's duty as the most powerful sorcerer on Earth to protect our world from threats of the mystical kind, which includes all powerful god-like entities, dark sorcerers, weird mythical creatures, you name it._

 _So where do I fit into all this? Well I guess to answer that question we'd have to go back a few months to my first days in the New York Sanctum Sanctorum at 112 Bleecker Street, New York, New York…_

* * *

Wong stared at the scene before him, his smirk growing wider by the second.

There was Stephen Strange, reclined with is feet up on the coffee table. In his lap a book lay open with one hand tracing its pages, the other one draped over his front to keep his chest warm. And there right next to him, Olivia Summers was curled up cat like against his side, snuggling the side of her snoring face into his shoulder as his head rested on top of hers. Above the two of them, the Cloak of Levitation had placed itself over them both, covering their bodies and engulfing them in a sea of red.

Wong winced as he turned off the television and Via let loose a piggy like grunt in her sleep.

 _How does he sleep with that noise in his ears?_

He marvelled as Stephen barely moved an inch from where he lay, mouth hanging open slightly as he drooled a little.

 _Now that does deserve a picture._

The Librarian quickly took a few steps back and took out his phone. In a few seconds, he snapped a shot and shared it to his select few trusted friends with the caption:

"Day One at NY Sanctum Sanctorum – Dr. Stephen Strange, future sorcerer supreme and Olivia Summers, Spider Sorceress in training."

He smirked to himself as all those on the private messaging channel quickly clicked the like button, only to jump a little as he heard the doorbell ring.

"Who could it be now?" He muttered to himself as he quickly checked over his new charges. But they were still dead to the world even as the doorbell rang again, and again.

Quickly he strode downstairs, straightening out his maroon tunic and pants as he approached the door and looked through the keyhole.

 _Odd…I don't know these two._

The librarian frowned as he quietly prepped a spell on his fingers, ready to strike even as he carefully opened the door and peered outside.

There were two men standing there. One was tall, well built, blonde haired blue eyed and wearing T-shirt, jeans and a brown leather jacket. The other man was slightly shorter, with dark hair, a matching Goatee, a pair of obnoxious sunglasses, an ACDC shirt with a black jacket and pants and patent leather shoes.

"Can I help you?" Wong frowned and the man with the goatee shifted his sunglasses down to reveal a pair of very shrewd brown eyes.

"Well I guess that depends" The brunette smirked smugly "We were wondering if we could talk to a certain Doctor Stephen Strange."

"And why do you think I'd let you in to talk to him so early in the morning?" Wong's scowl darkened.

"I'm Tony Stark and this is my associate Captain Steve Rogers. And we need his help"

"Avengers…great" Wong rolled his eyes to himself looking up towards the heavens.

Barely one day after her funeral and already he was certain the Ancient One's ghost was throwing curveballs their way.

 _You just can't help yourself up there, can you?_

"So…can we come in?" Tony gulped only to grunt as he was elbowed in the ribs by Steve.

"If Doctor Strange is unavailable we can come by another time" the super soldier bobbed his head politely. "How about tomorrow. Would tomorrow be alright"

"Maybe" Wong stated.

There was a very sticky pause.

"Right…so I guess we'll be going then" Steve made to turn to leave but Tony didn't move a muscle as he looked the librarian over, eyeing his red tunic and pants with mild interest.

"Can I help you?" Wong grunted irritably and Tony raised his eyebrows.

"Uh…yeah. We told you who we were but you didn't once mention your name"

"…It's Wong" Wong stated stiffly, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu wash over him as Tony Stark smirked amusedly.

"Just Wong?...what are you like, Eminem, Beyoncé, Sting, Cher-"

And just like that the door to the New York Sanctum was slammed in his face.

"Tony" Steve rolled his eyes in exasperation as Tony stared bewildered at the door.

"What, I was just asking-"

Meanwhile behind the door, Wong scowled darkly.

 _Tony Stark and Stephen Strange. Two peas in a freaking pod._

* * *

 _Yeah…Iron Man and Captain America made a house call._

 _That wouldn't be the first time a hero crossed our paths that day._

* * *

"So, let me get this straight. Tony Stark _and_ Steve Rogers both called in today but you sent them packing?" Stephen Strange raised his eyebrows at Wong from over his plate of eggs.

He was still wearing his sleeping T-shirt and pants, and his usually neat brown-grey streaked hair was messy and scraggly like his beard, the Cloak of Levitation settled sleepily over his back. Beside him, Via was quietly shovelling her eggs down the hatch in her long-sleeved nightie, her weary blue eyes half-hidden under her mass of golden curls.

"Yes" Wong grunted as he made to slide his two fried eggs onto his own plate. "I told them they could drop in tomorrow after you two had rested. I figured you two could use a break after the funeral. And since you're both going to be living here full time, you might be able to use today to do some shopping."

"Schophing?" Via mumbled through a mouthful of food.

"Swallow please." Stephen grimaced in disgust at her bulging cheeks.

"Yes shopping" Wong allowed himself a small amused smirk as he watched the youth glower mutinously as she swallowed all the food down her throat in one loud gulp. "Since you're not going to be going to Kamar-Taj as often you'll need proper everyday clothes for living here in New York. You especially Olivia, seeing as you'll need to start school soon"

"St-start school?" Via spluttered, almost spitting out her next mouthful of food "B-but I-I'm so far behind. I've barely started first year of junior high level of studies. A-and it's the middle of the year-I'll be even more behind than normal…" she trailed off her cheeks going pink with embarrassment.

"Alright then how about this," Stephen sighed softly closing his plate "Why don't you be home schooled here till the start of the next school year? That way you can have time to catch up. It shouldn't be too hard to buy you text books here to work through."

"And speaking of books and paper, Master Percival dropped by while you were both sleeping. His contact has gotten the first application for adoption through and they will be sending along a social worker to conduct a home study within the next few weeks."

"h-home study?" Now Via was looking pale as death warmed up.

Even Stephen was looking uncomfortable as he grunted "And how on earth do you expect us to keep all this place a secret from a social worker. I mean sure we can dress and look the part but anyone who comes in here can agree that this isn't a _normal_ home for a child by any stretch."

"We do have connections with certain organizations that are aware of our existence" Wong explained calmly "and those organizations will have some agents they will put into different government agencies to keep an eye on goings on."

"So what, like a secret agent from SHIELD or something will be our social worker?" Via snorted.

"As a matter of fact yes." Wong nodded though his face was grim as he added "but considering all the drama with SHIELD that has gone on in Washington, I'll be surprised if that social worker wasn't also moonlighting as an assassin"

"An assassinating social worker. Won't this be interesting" Stephen smirked dryly and Via shook her head. Trust him to say something like that.

* * *

 _So yeah, that was my life back then._

 _I was living with two bachelor sorcerers in a mystical stronghold/museum and was probably going to have a secret agent social worker helping with the adoption process? Could my life get any weirder?_

 _Yes. Yes it could._

 _It all started when I was out shopping for clothes and essentials with Stephen. We used a sling ring portal to teleport our way through alleyways, which turned out to be a great idea seeing as if we started carrying too much we could quickly just turn a corner, drop our shopping through the portal into the Sanctum and quickly step back out again._

 _At first I was worried when we stepped into the first department store, for I was wondering how we were going to pay for all of our stuff._

 _From what I knew of Stephen he had used up all his last pennies on his search for Kamar-Taj and hadn't earned any money since. And I was a penniless street orphan (enough said right)._

 _Well wrong. Stephen told me that the Masters of the Sanctums all got a stipend from the Order to look after themselves and the Sanctums, and that I was paying for my things with money from my account from the Sorenson family inheritance (that knowledge in itself almost made me faint from surprise)._

 _And then once I got over the money worries, my insecurity got the better of me. All the stores we visited were, while not the most expensive brands, still were of good quality. And I was dressed in my only normal clothes, which basically consisted of a slightly worn out white dress with a jacket and black ripped tights and black boots. Stephen of course, used his magic to swan around in a well-cut shirt, trousers and jacket_ _ **.**_

 _He may have become more humbled during his time at Kamar Taj but quite honestly in some ways he's still a bit of a peacock. Seriously, he was more worried about the state of my wardrobe than I was._

 _The only thing he was uncomfortable about on was when I had to pick out my own bras and underwear. I have to admit, was kinda funny watching him trying to avoid the staring of all the other women in the shop who (understandably) giggled at his predicament._

 _But it wasn't till we dropped off our bags back at the Sanctum and stopped for a late lunch that things really got interesting…or rather damn terrifying and strange. (and no the pun totally wasn't intended. It really was quite bizarre)_

* * *

"So what have we got? Jeans, T-shirts, tops, shoes, underwear…" Via trailed off as she slurped on her soda.

"We still need sleepwear, bags, school books…" Stephen continued as he chomped into a club sandwich.

Both were sitting at a café, looking out one of the big windows as they watched people hurry outside in the cold. As they did, Stephen's eyes fell upon a gaggle of young women no older than twenty all giggling as they rushed across the road, their gaudy clothes and jewellery bouncing on their persons.

He turned back to look at Via and at the trinkets she wore. There, peeking out from under her jacket sleeves were a pair of golden dragon bracelets, Asmund and Brynja each twisting up each of her arms from her wrists. He pursed his lips as the tiny red jewelled eyes of them glinted a little in the artificial light. His eyes then fell to her neck, where he saw a small golden dream catcher dangling from a thin golden cord, a tiny blue gem glimmering faintly at its centre, the Web of Asibikaashi.

He felt a slight twinge of jealousy as he regarded his own reflection in the glass window beside him. Due to having to appear in public, he'd had to leave the Cloak of Levitation behind at the Sanctum. Not that he needed it to fight. Even though it was a bit clingy as a relic, it was still very reliable in a pinch.

"You okay Doc?"

Stephen blinked as Via's hand suddenly waved in front of his face.

"Sorry. Sorry. Just lost in thought" he apologised, quickly taking another bite out of his sandwich. "Say Olivia…When's your birthday?"

"huh? My birthday? Dunno." Via shrugged, but Stephen could see her shoulders stiffen ever so slightly.

"What do you mean you don't know? You must have some idea" Stephen frowned and Via shook her head.

"Seriously Stephen I don't know. I mean yeah I obviously have a birthday but seeing as my parents dumped me when I was a baby…I can't really be sure-" she stopped and swallowed hard "30th April. That's what was left on the birth certificate I had with me when I was left at the orphanage"

"Was there anything else on the birth certificate?" Stephen leaned forwards but Via just shook her head again.

"No. Just my name, the rest was left blank"

"Oh…right" Stephen looked down on his plate guilt flooding him. Great, they'd been having a relaxed day and now he'd gone and ruined it by bringing up her past.

"So you're a Taurus" he coughed quickly, trying to cover up his stutter.

"Probably." She shrugged again "And what about you? Because I'm guessing you've got an end of year birthday."

"November 18th. Scorpio" Stephen smirked as she rolled her eyes fondly.

"Man, you seriously suck with small talk huh?"

"I never really enjoyed it much in my old life, no" he nodded and was relieved to see her start giggling. The sound was infectious and soon he too found himself chuckling softly.

It was at this moment the front door to the café opened, its bell jingling softly as a man stepped through.

He was a tall middle-aged man in dark warm clothes and a sharp pointed face. He had pale white blonde slicked back locks that gleamed white in the dim light. His eyes were dark sharp and beady, and searching swiftly around, that was until they caught Via's glance as she quickly turned to see where the jingling of the bell was coming from.

As soon as their gazes locked, her smile vanished and his eyes widened like saucers.

She turned back to Stephen who only spared the man a fleeting look before looking back at her face.

It had turned chalk white with terror.

"Olivia, are you alright?" he frowned reaching across the table to gently shake her hand. "Olivia? Olivia?"

"We need to get out of here. _Now._ " Olivia breathed, not taking her eyes off the blonde man who had now approached the café counter to order a coffee. And as Stephen looked back at him he noticed that though the man was talking to the cashier, his eyes were fixed on Via with an eerie mixture of surprise and hungry intensity.

"Olivia what's going on? Olivia wait-" But too late, Olivia was already striding out of the café and past the strange man, who's gaze followed her all the way out the door.

Stephen jumped to his feet, his heart hammering as he saw the strange blonde man quickly grab his takeaway cup of coffee and stride out the door, following Via's path exactly, his eyes fixed in that horrible intense gaze.

Via meanwhile was darting down the street, glancing back every two seconds as she tried to lose herself in the crowd. She hated leaving Stephen in the lurch like this, but there was no way she was staying put with that man-

 _OH crap. Oh crap-oh crap-oh crap!_

She all but screamed in her head as she saw said man's pointed face in the crowd. She had to lose him quick, if that determined stride was anything to go by he'd be on her in minutes if she didn't do something.

She quickly rushed around a corner…and straight into a wall of muscle.

"Ooff!" she winced as she fell backwards onto her behind. Her victim on the other hand managed to stay upright. In fact, he barely even stumbled one step back as he reached down to help her off the ground.

"Oh, forgive me young one. I wasn't looking where I was going."

 _Young one? What era was this guy born in?_

"It's okay. It's my fault." Via said instead, as she was all but dragged up onto her feet by the man, whom she noticed had very big bulky muscled arms…and shoulders…and chest…

 _Whoa! Where'd this Goliath come from?_

Via's eyes almost bulged out of her sockets as she beheld the man before her. He was very tall, muscular (as she'd already seen) and had shoulder length blonde hair and short beard that was just as golden as her own. Though he wore a rather daggy pair of jeans and dark hooded sweater, he seemed to hold himself with a distinctly regal air that Via could've sensed even from a mile off.

And speaking of senses…

Via quickly turned around and saw to her horror, her pursuer standing a few feet away as he tried to hide himself from view behind a hot dog stand.

"Is everything alright?" The big blonde man in front of Via asked, his jovial smile falling into a concerned frown.

Via turned back to big-goliath forcing a smile. But it just made her look like she had bad toothache.

"Yeah-yeah. I'm fine. Sorry about that I'll just be-"

"Is that man troubling you?" Big-Goliath's eyes suddenly narrowed on the spot her tracker was hiding.

Via blinked in surprise. She'd not expected this big hulking wall of muscle to be so shrewd.

"Wh-what man?" she tried to smile it off but goliath's brow just furrowed further.

"That one hiding behind the stand. Pale hair, pointed face…looks a bit like a reptile"

 _Reptile?! Ha good one. I should remember that._

A small part of her brain snorted, however it was quickly shut down by the other nine tenths of it all but yelling at her to start running again.

"Listen, this chit-chat has been fun and all but I've really got to go-sorry!"

She quickly backed away from the big man, noticing vaguely that his eyes were flickering down to her wrists where her dragon bracelets were now exposed and glinting in the sunlight.

"Miss…wait where did you get those-" the man started to say, his voice almost breathless with shock but Via was already side stepping him and darting off down into an alleyway.

She could feel the Web of Asibikaashi around her neck glow hotly as it lent her its powers.

 _But no, if he sees me use it it'll put me in even more danger_.

She reasoned as she quietly slid to hide behind a dumpster just as someone behind her rounded the alley corner.

She clapped a hand over her mouth to mask her breaths as she waited, heart all but flying out of her chest as she heard the footsteps come closer and closer…

"Olivia?"

"Jesus Christ!" Olivia squeaked her fist flying out as a shadow suddenly bent over her.

But thankfully Stephen Strange managed to dodge the offending limb just in time, a dark scowl spread over his face as he drawled.

"Wrong. Guess again"

"Stephen. Don't scare me like that" She sighed, slowly getting up to her feet and looking around them both. But she couldn't see hide nor hair of that strange white blonde-haired man.

"He's gone. I diverted his attention with an illusion. It should lead him to the other side of town as long as he doesn't get too close." Stephen explained as he followed her gaze, before quickly turning back to her, brows knitted even further together.

Via looked down at her toes, feeling her ears turn very red with embarrassment as he growled quietly down on her.

"What the hell was that all about?"

"I-I…I don't know" she mumbled to her feet.

"Bullshit! It was clear you were scared shitless of him." Stephen folded his arms as he leaned against a brick wall. "And no-body runs like that unless they've got something to run from. Who was he?"

"I-I don't know. I-I mean" Via added as Stephen opened his mouth to retort "I mean I've met him before b-but I don't know his name."

"Where did you meet him?"

"A-at the orphanage" Via muttered pinching her nose "Listen, I-I'll tell you all about it but not out here. Let's…let's just go back to the Sanctum and talk okay?"

Stephen opened his mouth to speak, but upon seeing how pale and scared her expression was, shut it hastily and nodded quietly.

After a quick check of the alleyway to make sure it was deserted, Stephen quickly turned around and raised his arms to the wall behind him.

At once a sling ring portal opened, revealing the polished wooden entrance hall of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, littered with a large pile of shopping bags.

Without further ado, Via quickly stepped through the portal, Stephen following close behind. As the portal shut closed behind them neither of them noticed a tall muscular man quickly chance a peek around the corner of the alleyway.

 _That's odd_

The man blinked. He could've sworn he'd seen the girl and the dark haired man there just a second ago. He rubbed his bearded chin thoughtfully.

Could it be magic? But no…as far as he knew there was no human capable of magical feats. True there were those called _inhumans_ who had special gifts but no magic wielders like his brother-

"Thor. Thor!" someone called by his side and quickly the man snapped out of it. "Yes Jane?"

He said turning to look at a small brunette woman who was frowning up at him worriedly, carrying two big cups of coffee in her hands.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine" Thor narrowed his eyes as they darting over the alley way. But it was no use. He might as well have been watching the spray paint graffiti on the nearby wall dry.

"You look like you've seen a ghost" Jane's lips pursed worriedly as she took in his confused slightly pale face.

"I might have…" he murmured his eyes falling to his wrists. But instead of seeing the large lean muscles, he instead saw the young girls slender wrists with the two golden dragons encircling them.

 _Those dragons…but no…it couldn't be possible?_

 _… could it?_

* * *

 _The trip back home after that stint in the city… wasn't fun._

 _Stephen wanted a full blow by blow account of why I had run. But I was still not sure how I should tell him…_

 _It was a good thing Wong arrived down the stairs telling us to clear up our mess of bags at the front hall. At least that gave Stephen some distraction…if only temporarily till that evening._

* * *

"So that man you were running from…" Stephen frowned as he and Via sat in his study. They were both in armchairs by the fire that burned in the hearth of a small alcove where the walls were covered in books.

They had both been reading, or rather Stephen had been peeking up at Via from his book while she had tried studiously to avoid him by burying herself in the pages of her texts.

Unfortunately, her plan to avoid eye contact could only work for so long.

"I know you can hear me so stop avoiding me." Stephen shut his book with a sharp snap when she refused to open her mouth.

From the corner of his eye he could see Wong clearing papers on his desk. The other sorcerer gave him a stern quirk of the brow.

Stephen sighed, sucking in a deep breath to calm his irritation as he put the book to the side and leaned forwards to gently pull the book down from her face.

"Olivia, come on. Enough is enough. You know bottling whatever this is up, isn't going to help"

"I know that" she mumbled softly still not meeting his eye, only to suddenly growl "It's just…When I explain it it's not gonna make any sense. Even I don't know half of what's going on and I was there when he-"

She stopped and gulped down on a lump in her throat.

"Two or three years ago, about a week before the Avengers Battle of New York-" she began, acutely aware that Wong had stopped in his sorting to listen a few feet away "-a man said he wanted to adopt me. Some government guy, I forget his name. He'd come by the orphanage about a month before and had seen me stand up to the matron. Apparently, they said he liked my spunk and he wanted to start the process for adoption. I only got to meet him once and I can't really remember his name but he seemed like a nice enough guy. But then…"

"Then?" Stephen prompted gently, stiffening as he saw her eyes glimmer sadly.

"He…he died." She mumbled quietly "the guy was killed during the Battle for New York."

Wong and Stephen both glanced at one another, both equally worried now. They weren't sure where this story was going but they were sure it wasn't anywhere good and sure enough:

"It was during the next two weeks after the Battle, people were still cleaning up the city. Things at the Orphanage…well…they weren't going so well. The matron and her husband, Mildred and Bill, were both doing what they could to swindle as much money from all the funding and benefits the government was handing out. But instead of putting the money into the orphanage like they should've, they-"

"Hoarded it for themselves" Stephen finished and Via nodded, her blue eyes suddenly burning with an odd fire, he had never seen before.

"Yeah, and that wasn't the worst of it. After the Battle of New York, a fair few kids who lost their parents in the city were dumped by the system into orphanages. Eventually ours started to get overcrowded and Milly and Bill decided that since they didn't want to part with their Moola, they'd palm off a few of the older kids as…uh…compensation for unpaid debts to some pretty nasty people"

Stephen could feel his stomach churning uncomfortably, but he still could not bring himself to stop listening intently as Via ran a hand through her blonde curls.

"I was one of those kids. Since I was young, blonde, and had nearly hit puberty, it'd be easy to palm me off to some brothel or some place that wanted girls my age. Of course I didn't have a say in the matter, but still I tried hard to get out of the situation. Billy…he didn't like that too much and thought he should teach me a lesson"

She rubbed her arms, one of the dragon bracelet's red eyes suddenly flashing dangerously in the firelight.

Stephen did not know what was worse. What he was hearing, or the nonchalant way Via talked about it. It was as if the idea of a man practically beating a young defenceless twelve-year-old was completely ordinary to her…

But then again…maybe it had been normal for her…back then…

He reasoned, though it did not ease his conscious one bit.

"What happened next?" he gulped, not quite sure whether he wanted to hear what she said.

Indeed, he almost shivered as she just shrugged and said:

"I fought back. I always fought back-" She added, and Stephen and Wong were both surprised to hear a flash of pride in her voice "-I'd rather die than let those bastards beat me down. Seeing that I wasn't going to budge, Bill and Mill decided to make other arrangements for someone else to take me."

"And that man we saw at the café-" Stephen breathed, comprehension dawning horribly.

"Yeah" Via nodded "he was the guy they wanted to palm me off to. No paperwork nothing. They'd arranged it with him so that he'd just take me in his big black car and I'd disappear off the map. I don't know who he was or what he wanted to do with me but as soon as I saw his face…I don't know…I just knew he was a terrible person and that if I went with him I'd probably get killed or worse. So when they weren't looking, I snuck out the other side of the back seat of his car and ran into the street and never looked back."

"So that is how you ended up on the streets? You were running away from this man." Wong said quietly and Via nodded.

"And you don't know who he is?"

"Not a clue. I just know he's bad and I'd probably be dead if I went with him"

Stephen leaned back in his chair, pressing the tips of his fingers together thoughtfully. Normally he'd have told her not to judge the man so quickly, but then he remembered that dark hungry look in the strange man's eyes as he had first looked at them in the café. It wasn't the predatory look of sexual attraction…it was the face of a hunter who'd just spotted his prey and was sizing them up so he could figure out how to mount their heads on his wall.

The thought made him shiver slightly, and the cloak of levitation wrapped itself slightly tighter around his shoulders in response, lending her comfort to him as he continued to mull the events of that day.

That man…when he'd gone after Via he'd moved with skill. He'd been trained to move quickly. Even he, Stephen had trouble keeping up with him (granted that he had stopped to quickly over pay the café cashier before rushing out).

"I'm sorry."

Stephen blinked up in surprise to see Via looking worriedly at him.

"pardon?" he spluttered.

"I said I'm sorry. We were having a perfectly normal day and I ruined it by running off and-"

"And you did what you had to do." Stephen cut across her softly, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder. "That man made you feel unsafe so you tried to get away from him. A perfectly ordinary reaction given what has happened to you before. But even so," he added quirking an annoyed brow "-you could've at least waited for me to come with you, that way I could've been on hand to help if he did try something. Also, it would've made finding you a lot easier, especially since neither of us have cell phones."

"God we don't do we?" Via clapped a hand to her forehead "crap I forgot. I'm so used to us being at Kamar Taj where we're always trapped within the same building"

"Same here" Stephen admitted before looking up at Wong. "There wouldn't be any chance that we can use our stipend to get ourselves a cell phone each."

"I don't see why not" Wong raised his eyebrows coolly "What do you think I've been using to contact the other masters?"

"A crystal ball perhaps" Via snorted and Wong's scowl darkened considerably.

"Firstly, true crystal balls are extraordinarily rare objects that are only used by actual seers. Secondly, we may be sorcerers but that doesn't mean we use backward technology."

"Oh chillax Wong it was just a joke." Via chuckled.

Stephen chuckled too, but his laughter was quick to fade as a dark smirking face crossed his minds eye.

 _"What's this? My mantra?"_

 _"It's the Wifi password. We're not savages"_

 _Mordo…what on earth are you up to?_

Stephen sighed quietly to himself as he watched Via teasing Wong. It was a relaxing scene he supposed, and yet he couldn't help but feel it would be more complete if their old friend and teacher were to be standing to the side, chuckling or smirking alongside them.

His thoughts were interrupted by a strange ringing sound coming from the study desk.

"What's that?" he asked as Wong rolled his eyes to Via's poked out tongue.

"The landline" Wong snapped walking over to the desk and picked up an old fashioned telephone.

"We have a landline?" Via whispered to Stephen who shrugged.

"Apparently yes"

"Weird"

"Hello, this is Wong. To whom am I speaking?" Wong paused as someone on the other end of the phone answered in a muffled voice.

"I see…I see…no he's right here. It's for you" he gestured to Stephen who quickly took the phone only to scowl darkly.

"Tony Stark…what a _pleasant_ surprise."

* * *

 _And that's how my day ended. With a phone call from Tony Stark._

 _He said he wanted to meet the two of us face to face, since we'd just moved into the neighbourhood. And by neighbourhood I could only assume he meant New York because we are nowhere near the Avengers tower._

 _Stephen of course, was going to refuse. From what I could tell of the conversation he and Tony did not get along very well at all (even from before his accident it seems)_

 _And so I was very surprised when Stephen accepted the invitation to the Stark Charity ball that was to be held at the Avengers tower that very Friday._

 _I don't know what in his head persuaded him to do such a thing. Tony must have said something to him that I couldn't hear. But whatever reason it was, Stephen had decided to invite me along as well for the ride._

 _Whilst most of me was angry for being dragged into his mess, a part of me had to admit I was excited. After all which girl wouldn't be excited about going to her first ball._

 _Ha! Oh, if only I knew back then what I was getting myself into…_

 _But if I did, I'd probably not find out about what was happening many miles away that very night._

* * *

The bunker was dark and derelict. The cement walls were only lit by sparsely separated LED lights, making whatever shadows hitting them eerie and oddly darker than normal.

But none of this phased the tall, strong man that strode through the lights towards a red door at the far end.

When he entered, he was unperturbed by the sight of the bloodied and bruised man with short brown salt and pepper hair and rough scraggly beard, seated and bound to the chair in the center of a spotlight amidst a sea of darkness and concrete.

"Hello old sport. Miss me?" the tall man smirked, his British accent cutting through the air like a knife as he stalked up to stand in the shadows before his prey, who looked up at him through swollen, bloodshot brown eyes.

"Cornelius Craven" the man rasped, his deep southern accent recognizable despite his voice being but a breath.

"That's right" the tall man, Craven, stepped into the light, illuminating his pale white blonde locks that gleamed white as he slicked his fringe away from his dark beady eyes.

"Such stubbornness" Craven hissed as he knelt before the man before him. "all these injuries and yet you still refuse to answer our questions."

"I'd rather die than tell you or any of your little friends anything" the man in the chair spat, flecks of blood flying out onto Craven's face.

Disgusted, craven quietly wiped his face, his lip curling as he stood up to his fullest height.

"Not even if we were to tell you we've finally located that brat?"

Even from under all the blood and swellings, Craven could see that the bound man's face had paled considerably.

But it was quick to vanish under a fiery glare and a fierce struggle against his bindings.

"You'll never get your hands on her. You have no idea of what you'd be messing with if you did-"

"Which is why we are in need of your assistance" Craven leered, backing away to avoid the flailing leg of his captive as he struggled.

"I would sooner assist the devil himself then help the likes of _you-_ "

"Such a shame" he tutted "and to think you were once one of our best, most promising agents… Elias Summers"

* * *

 **Hey guys, it's me the author again.**

 **Just wanted to give a quick shout out to readers old and new and say that if you enjoyed please review. Feedback is always welcomed provided it's constructive and helps me make a better story. (because i always want to make a good story for you guys to enjoy reading).**

 **Oh and FYI the story is set just between the battle with Kaesilius and the battle with Ultron (as canonically the two events probably occurred in that order) I only think this is so because by the time we get that cut-scene between Dr Strange and Thor at the end of _Doctor Strange_ , it looks like Stephen's been Sorcerer Supreme for a fair bit already (which probably places the events of his origin story around the time just before Age of Ultron)**

 **So anyways, adieu and i hope you guys enjoy the next installment of Via's adventures**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: A Stark Contrast**

"I can't believe you roped me into this shindig!"

"Oh come off it Olivia, it won't be that bad. Think of it as practice for you-"

Wong rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time as Olivia Summers and Stephen Strange both glowered at each other from across the kitchen island counter top.

They'd been going at it all morning. Ever since Tony Stark had invited the two of them to the Stark Industries Charity Ball at Avengers Tower, Via had been fuming at her guardian for dragging her into the situation.

Wong could only suppose that he should've seen this coming.

Though she was disciplined in certain areas of life, Via never been taught proper lady like etiquette. Up till a few months ago she'd never even had the luxury of time to enjoy being a teenage girl. It was only natural she'd feel exceptionally nervous about attending such a prestigious event.

But despite his sympathy for the girl, Wong had to agree with Stephen.

Though very humbled by his recent experiences, the ex-neurosurgeon still knew how to carry himself in high society, something that was going to prove important when it came down to him forging alliances with other powerful entities. If Via could learn from him how to socialize with such people, she could potentially prove herself a powerful asset to the Masters of the Mystic Arts; especially now that she had the prestigious name of Sorenson to back her up.

Wong sighed as he set the plates of food down before his hungry charges.

Via, happy for an excuse to not listen to Stephen's lecture on social etiquette, quickly started wolfing down her food, much to both adult's slight disdain.

"Perhaps we should start with table manners" Wong grunted as he quickly snagged Via's plate out from her.

"Hey!" she growled only to wince as with a quick whisper and a point of his fingers, Stephen's Cloak of Levitation flew forward and wrapped around her shoulders, binding her straight backed to the back of her chair.

"Let me go-ow-what the-GUYS!" she scowled as both Wong and Stephen chuckled at her predicament. But no matter how hard she tried to struggle, the Cloak just wouldn't budge.

"Now lesson one. How to sit whilst eating" Stephen smirked as he got to his feet.

"You've got to be kidding me?!" Via shut her eyes and groaned.

* * *

 _So there we all were. Stephen, Wong teaching me "proper etiquette"_

 _Alright I'll admit it, it has proven somewhat useful, but still…was it necessary for Cloak really have to tie me to the chair?_

 _(In hindsight it probably was, otherwise I'd probably have escaped)_

 _Amidst these amusing beginnings of my super-fast "My Fair Lady" rags to riches transformation, Master Percival arrived from the London Sanctum Sanctorum with all my mother's stuff for me to sort through._

* * *

"Wow… all this…is mine?" Via blinked as she stared at the many cardboard boxes that littered the entire front hall of the Sanctum.

There had to be over thirty there – no wait scratch that – more like fifty.

"Yes…or at least it's all your mother's belongings from London" Wong folded his arms beside her. "The rest of your estate will most likely be at the Sorenson family manor in Norway"

"I have a manor…in Norway?" Via gulped, her face paling.

"Where in Norway" Stephen asked interestedly as he closed a magic portal a few feet away.

"Tønsberg. It lies in the County of Vestfold, in the District of Viken." Wong explained "It's quite a lovely city. Also home to the Oseberghaugen,"

"I've heard of that" Stephen's brow furrowed slightly. "Isn't that the spot where they have that ancient Viking burial mound?"

"Yes it is" Wong quickly turned away to reach down to a box smirking. "Now let's get down to organizing all this. If we work hard and sort this all out before dinner then we can buy us some time to continue your etiquette training before tomorrow evening"

"Argh! I can't believe this…" Via groaned as Stephen sniggered softly behind her back.

And so they started sorting. It was a long slog as many of the boxes contained stacks of books. Most of them were spell books, most of them quite standard and outdated, but there were some that were exceptionally rare. These Via gave to Stephen.

"Are you sure? I mean after all these were your moms'." he stuttered, but Via could see the excitement clearly etched in his face as he tried to restrain himself from smiling.

"I'm sure." She grinned as she sat on the floor and sorted through some more books "Besides, she was supposed to be the heir to the Sorcerer Supreme before you. These could probably help you in your upcoming training"

Behind both their backs, Wong allowed himself a small smirk of his own.

It wasn't often anyone got to see Stephen Strange look as excited as a child on Christmas morning.

It wasn't long after that when Stephen finally put all the rare magic tomes upstairs to his private library, and all the other magic books had been sent to the sanctum's public library down on the ground floor, they moved onto the ordinary books, many of which Via took up to her own bedroom to fill her own bookshelves.

Once the books were settled, they moved onto the other boxes. Many of these were filled with small trinkets. Many of them were quite ordinary, small items that Via supposed her mother must have collected over the years, including a large box filled with dolls and toys.

"Are you alright?" Stephen knelt beside Via as she stared at the photo album in her lap. It was large, and had a maroon leather cover with the Sorenson family crest (two dragons entwined in a golden circle, biting each-others tails) embossed in gold at the top.

But Via did not seem to hear him. She was staring down at the page she'd opened, and into the large photograph before her. It was a coloured family portrait, from the seventies, if Via was guessing from the slight sepia discolouration.

In it were four people. Two young girls and a man and a woman. The man was tall and austere looking, with a head of short golden blonde curly hair, glasses that went over a pair of piercing grey eyes and a moustache to match. This when added to his sharply cut grey suit his body radiated power, authority and strength. Beside him, his wife stood, tall, elegant, if a little snobbish, in Via's opinion. She was beautiful in her conservative white dress which contrasted starkly with her dark brown locks that were pinned back tight behind her head. In front of them the two girls stood both in matching red dresses, and with the same blonde curls like their father. One looked to be about twelve years old and was mimicking the same slightly snooty look her parents were wearing, while her younger sister (who looked around eight or nine) grinned unabashedly. It was this young smiling girl that Via recognized at once.

"It's my mom" she breathed and though she smiled she could feel her chest catch painfully.

"She looks just like you" Stephen murmured eyeing the youngest girl in the photograph.

Now he understood why so many of the older sorcerers were startled whenever they saw Via. The Sorenson family resemblance wasn't just there, it was smacking them straight in the face whenever they looked at her.

The only real difference was her bearing. The man and woman and elder girl (whom Stephen supposed were her grandparents and aunt), looked haughty and proud at the camera, with a pride only an aristocrat could have.

"Hey Doc, check this out" Via's voice broke him out of his thoughts and Stephen squinted at the place she was pointing.

Just where her grandfather was looping his arm with his wife, his shirt and cuffs had slid back. And there it was, a glint of gold.

Stephen looked at Via who excitedly held up her wrist where one of her dragon bracelets now curled around, glimmering ever so slightly.

"Well, if that doesn't prove your parentage I don't know what does" Wong piped in from where he had started to put back some small already sorted bric-a-brac.

"A DNA test maybe" Stephen snorted, but Via could see the corners of his mouth twitched upwards as he glanced back down on her.

"Come on. You can look at that later when we're done here"

"Right-y-oh Doc" Her smile widened as she shut the album and put it to the side.

They moved onto the last few boxes, in which Via was very surprised to find a whole stack of-

"Whoa! What the hell are all these?" she laughed as she pulled out a plum jacket with shoulder-pads.

"Good grief, I haven't seen these since the eighties" Stephen chuckled as she held it up for him and Wong to have a look at.

"Yeah, that is definitely going into storage!" Via giggled as she started a clothes pile in a box they'd emptied earlier.

All in all, she found diving through her mother's old clothes to be quite an odd experience. Whilst she found a lot of old everyday vintage clothes she also found some extra robes for training at Kamar-Taj, most of them mainly in some shade of purple or black.

She was particularly surprised to find what appeared to be an entire ninja's dark navy-blue uniform amidst all the training clothes, complete with the full headgear and shoes.

"For stealth missions" Wong explained when she asked him about it. "You should keep that. It might come in handy for you later, when you start your training again"

After her training gear came all her fancy clothes.

Via knew her mother came from a high-class family, but that didn't stop her surprise when she inspected the two boxes full of expensive dresses and evening gowns, as well as the one large box filled to bursting with shoes and accessories.

"Well, look at it this way" Wong smirked as he made one quite nice green dress hover in the air with magic. "at least now you don't have to go shopping for a dress tomorrow"

"If I had my way I wouldn't be _going_ tomorrow at all. Frills? Ha-ha. No." Via rolled her eyes as she tossed a very frilly red dress into the "storage" box.

"Hmm…what's this?" Stephen murmured as he reached down into one of the boxes and pulled out a dress.

Via looked up, and felt her cheeks go red.

"That could work" Wong nodded appreciatively at the dress as he walked over to inspect it. "It's simple, elegant and the colour's not too garish. All we have to do is shrink it down to fit your size."

"But it's so… _pink_ " Via grimaced, trying to hide her flushed cheeks, but failing miserably as Stephen's smirk grew wider.

"And yet you like it."

"What? No! I-I-Don't! I-I-mean sure it's okay but-there's no way I-I-could-" she spluttered as both older men grinned at one another.

"Now since that's sorted, why don't you sort through these and see if you can find a pair to match" Wong slid the cardboard box filled with shoes towards the scowling girl.

"I hate you two" she muttered.

* * *

 _Yeah, and that's how I ended up finding my dress. You'd think that after all that it would be smooth sailing till the party the next day._

 _But it wasn't. You see I may have had all the pretty dresses and clothes in the world, but I was still…well…_ _ **me**_ _under all those clothes. And let me tell you guys, I'm far from being any kind of lady by a long stretch._

 _Little did I know I wasn't the only one worried about that._

* * *

"So let me get this straight. Tony Stark himself personally invited you to his Charity Ball, one of New York's biggest parties of the year, and you're dragging along your new fourteen-year-old ward, who sounds like she hasn't even been to a proper birthday party in her life?"

"I'm not dragging her along Christine I'm just-" Stephen pouted, sipping his cup of coffee to avoid the incredulous stare of the red-haired woman in a dark thick winter gear, who sat across from him in the small diner booth. It was a small place, not too pricey, with good food and good coffee, and it was close to New York General hospital which was lucky, because if it weren't Christine Palmer wouldn't have been able to meet him in her break.

Christine however was too busy narrowing her eyes at him reproachfully to fully appreciate the situation.

"Okay…maybe I am dragging her with me a little bit." He admitted, slightly sheepishly. "But what else was I to do? Stark knows about her and the adoption. How he knows, I have no idea-"

"Yeah because she totally wasn't rescued by Captain America when she ran away last week" Christine raised her eyebrows.

"Well I guess that might've done it" Stephen conceded grudgingly taking another swig. "But still, Stark asked me to bring her along, and well…I was so surprised I just agreed on the spot without asking her."

"And let me guess, she's _super happy_ about that?" Christine snorted.

"Hardly." Stephen's voice was quiet as he said:

"I've never seen her this nervous. When it comes down to martial arts and her studies she's as cool as a cucumber… but whenever she has to do something-I don't know-normal like girl's things and being a kid…she just looks so… _lost_ …and I…I don't know if I can do anything to help…"

Christine watched, surprised as he set down his coffee and sighed heavily into his palm.

"Oh god Christine what was I thinking? Me adopting a kid? I'm barely normal as it stands-"

 _Understatement of the century_

Christine thought but kept her mouth shut as he continued rambling quietly.

"-She should be with a loving family in some suburb, going to a normal school, with normal friends, not having to care about all this other crap that goes on in the world. Instead she's stuck with, Wong, me, and no biological family in some big mansion studying reality changing magic and being chased by a weird dangerous man in the streets"

"I can't believe that there are still people here in New York who'd sell a kid off like that" Christine muttered savagely. "I mean, sure some kids are a bit difficult to handle but still they all deserve a chance-"

"I know. I didn't believe it either until I saw that man." Stephen muttered, glancing towards the window they sat beside that looked out onto the street; almost as if he expected that strange pale haired man to pop out amongst the crowd.

"You still don't know who he is?" Christine bit her lip nervously as she followed his gaze.

"No. Via never got his name. But that look he had in his eye it just-" Stephen shook his head "-I mean physically he looks quite normal but-I don't know – it was just the way he looked at her. If you saw that you'd understand why she'd run away."

"You think he might be another one of those crazy _zealots_ you were telling me about earlier?" Christine leaned forwards as a waitress came by with a refill for the both, before quickly scuttling off to attend to someone else.

"I don't know. Maybe? But as far as I can tell he exudes no mystical presence whatsoever."

"So what? Because you can't sense the colour of his aura or whatever you know he can't do magic?" Christine sipped her coffee, amused when he glowered at her. "Oh relax you know I'm kidding"

"Not funny" he rolled his eyes, though secretly he was glad for the jest. Since Kaesilius's attack his innermost thoughts had turned dark of late, and any distraction was a welcome one. Even if it came with a slight blow to his pride.

Christine seemed to sense his unease because her smile softened.

"Stephen. I get it alright. This adoption is a _huge_ step. You've never done something like this before and you're freaking out because, you being you, want to get it perfectly the first time around."

"I'm not _freaking out_ " Stephen muttered under his breath.

"Yes you are" Christine reached across the table to take his hand in a comforting squeeze. "and it's okay if you are. Seriously Stephen, I've seen so many parents come into the ER, and even the ones who've got kids in college are still freaking out about how they're raising them. If anything, I'd more worried if you weren't freaking out right now, because that would mean you don't care about this kid at all."

"I-I just…" Stephen sipped on his coffee to calm his nerves "I just…I don't want to screw this up. She's already had such a messed-up life before, and now-"

"She's got you" Christine steamrolled over him smoothly "Are you perfect? No. Are you an arrogant, smug ass sometimes? Yes, you most definitely are. But you care about her, and you want her to be happy. And that's what she probably needs the most, now."

"But caring and happiness can't teach her how to dress, or behave, or teach her about dating, prepping for college or girl stuff or even just being a teenager. When I was a teen I was an absolute nerd, I mean I was brilliant yes but still…" he added, ears flushing red as Christine giggled.

"So _that's_ what's got you all hot and bothered. She needs help with _girl stuff_ and you have no clue what to do? Seriously Stephen, you're a doctor surely even you should be able to explain the birds and the bees-"

"Of course, I can explain the the birds and the bees!" Stephen snapped, his cheeks now vermillion "That's not the point. It's just…fashion…make up…being a _girl…_ Olivia might not be very _girly_ and she doesn't have to be that way, but she still should know some things so she can figure herself out socially in the future-"

"Do you want me to help?" Christine leaned forwards, her tone careful and soothing. "What if I came around to your place right now after this next cup, showed her some makeup and help prep her for tonight."

"You'd do that?" Stephen glanced at her and though he tried to hide it, she could clearly see the hopeful shine in his pale eyes.

"Yeah sure. I-If she's okay with it I guess. I mean, I don't want to intrude but if she really does need a little help getting ready and if you're stuck…"

"Are you sure. You've just come off your shift-" Stephen glanced worriedly to her watch but she just waved him off with a grin.

"Trust me I'll be fine. Once you're at that party I'll be curled up on my couch with dinner adn my Netflix"

"I wasn't worried about you being tired. I-I mean I am obviously but that's not what I meant." Stephen now smirked "I was more worried about whether you had the strength to deal with _her_ right now"

"You mean Olivia?" Christine frowned "Why? What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing's wrong per say…" Stephen's smirk widened "But let's just say…you'll need another cup of coffee before coming over."

 _Har-dee-har! Yeah I was a handful back then. (sometimes I guess I still can be)_

* * *

 _But honestly how else do you think I was to react to all this. I'd just turned from being poor orphaned street rat into the rich heiress ward of the world's greatest sorcerer, overnight. Who wouldn't be panicking?_

 _Needless to say that meeting Christine Palmer…well in hindsight, I was glad I met her when I did or else I might've been an absolute train wreck before I even got to Tony's party._

* * *

"Welcome to the Sanctum Sanctorum of New York!" Stephen pronounced proudly as he and Christine both stepped through a sling ring portal and straight into the entrance hall.

"Wow…" Christine gawked up at the high ceilings and grand split staircase before her. "Wow! You live _here_?"

"Well not in this exact spot. I mean this is the entrance hall of course" Stephen smirked smugly, pleased when he received a small glare from his ex.

"Ha-ha very funny"

"Sorry, but the look on your face was-"

"Strange!" a voice barked and both Stephen and Christine jumped, the former quickly shutting the portal behind him as someone stalked down the stairs.

It was Wong and he was looking pissed.

"Finally, you're back." He muttered as he reached the middle of the stairs "She's driving me up the walls. And yes, I do mean that _literally_ " he added before the doctor could comment.

"Let me guess, she finally escaped your etiquette lesson" Stephen's smirk grew wider as Wong shook his head.

"Escaped and then some. Why someone ever decided to give a fourteen-year-old that damned dreamcatcher is beyond me-Who's this?" he stopped short as he finally caught sight of Christine.

"This is Doctor Christine Palmer, an old friend and colleague of mine from New York General. She helped patch me up during the battle with Kaesilius. Christine this is Wong, our fellow sorcerer slash head librarian…sometimes nanny" Stephen added enjoying the way Wong seemed to swell slightly with anger. However, since they were in the presence of a guest he kept his temper in check.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Doctor Palmer" he nodded stiffly holding out his hand, which Christine shook smiling apologetically as she said:

"You too Wong. Sorry about Stephen, even back at the hospital he needed babysitting"

"Hey!" Stephen spluttered affronted as Wong allowed himself a small chuckle.

"Trust me, Doctor it's no problem at all." He turned back to Stephen, his smile vanishing as he said. "She's stuck herself on the ceiling of her room and won't come down. Every time I try to use a spell to get her down she dodges or uses a shield. I even tried transfiguring the space she's on into smooth glass, but she's stuck to that too. I'd honestly be impressed if she weren't so stubborn."

"I'm sorry but did you say she's on the ceiling?" Christine blinked and Stephen groaned.

"I'll get her down. Come on Christine. It's time you met Olivia"

"You weren't kidding when you said I'd need that coffee were you?" Christine sighed as both Sorcerers led her up to the second floor and down a corridor lined with doors. They stopped outside a dark wooden door with a small blue and golden painted plaque on it that said "Olivia"

"Came in this morning from Kamar-Taj" Wong explained "a gift from young Meeta Kaur. To give her new room a homelier feel"

"Ah" Stephen nodded as he pushed the door open and entered the bedroom.

It was large and roomy with a four-poster bed with black velvet curtains and blue linen and blankets that matched the overall blue and dark wooden décor.

Next to the bed was a dark bedside table laden with a lamp and several books with a dark wooden desk on the wall opposite, that was currently home to a large tome that lay open. All over the floor were cardboard boxes, some empty, some half full, some not even opened.

"Olivia!" he called looking up to the ceiling. It was high and tall, but there just close to where the light was dangling, Via was crouched upside down on her hands and haunches.

She was dressed in a plain white tank top and shorts, her curls dangling down towards the ground, her face scowling as she turned to face the door.

"Wong for the last time, I don't care what everyone else is wearing, I am NOT wearing those ridiculous heels and I'm not going to put another book on my head again! So I can learn how to…walk…" her voice faded away as she caught sight of Stephen in the doorway.

"Oh…you're back" she mumbled, her cheeks going pink.

"Having fun up there?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Wong was trying to get me to walk ' _Like a lady'_ or whatever that means" she mumbled, miming quotation marks upside down with one hand.

"Honestly I don't know what being a lady has to do with walking with a giant tome on top of your head"

"It's for your posture" Stephen explained folding his arms "Apparently if you can walk with a book on your head, it means your back and neck are completely straight and well balanced."

"Really? Because all the books on my head have given me are sore toes and a sore head" Via pouted angrily as with a small flip, she dropped from the ceiling and fell into a graceful catlike crouch on the ground.

It was then she noticed Christine standing just behind Stephen.

"Uh…Doc…Who's that?" she stiffened as Stephen stepped to the side to let Christine through.

She looked a little breathless, but then again, she had just seen a seemingly normal teenager just hang upside down from the ceiling.

"Christine Palmer. I used to work with Stephen at the Hospital."

"Olivia Summers." Via shook her hand eyeing her warily up and down "But everyone else calls me Via. Wait-Oh, you mean…is this…you're the chick who gave him that watch aren't you?"

"Watch?" Christine blinked, not noticing Stephen's 'stop talking' gestures behind her back.

"Yeah, that broken watch he always wears on his wrist. The one that says _time will tell how much I-_ " Via smiled slyly.

"Yes, this is the same Christine!" Stephen snapped waspishly, his cheeks pink as he folded his arms. "We were just having coffee and seeing as we're friends she wanted to come around to see if you needed any help getting ready tonight"

"Yeah, Stephen mentioned you might need a woman's advice on make-up and other _girl's stuff_ as he put it" Christine smirked.

"Girl's stuff? Really Doc?" Via rolled her eyes at her guardian, whose face was getting redder and redder with embarrassment.

 _Oh crap what have I done now?_

He wondered to himself as a few minutes later, he and Wong were shooed out of the girl's room by a giggling Christine who shut the door tight behind him.

"Come on. It's time you got yourself ready" Wong grunted as he steered the Sorcerer Supreme in training away from the door.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Stephen asked quietly as he chanced a glance back to the door.

"If they aren't we'll know soon enough" Wong assured him quietly. "Now go. That beard won't trim itself"

Meanwhile back in Via's bedroom, Via herself was starting to feel nervous.

She was in a strange room, with a strange woman she'd never met before, who was about to help her prepare for a ball she wanted no part in.

As if sensing her thoughts Christine looked at her, chewing her lip anxiously as she said.

"Y'know when Stephen told me he was going to adopt a kid…I thought he'd completely cracked"

Okay so it wasn't the best opening line, but still, what else could she say to the girl?

Thankfully however, this seemed to work as Via let out a small chuckle.

"Yeah…so did I? I mean we get along well but usually he just _sucks_ with kids."

"He was like that even when he had his hands" Christine nodded.

There was an uncomfortable pause, this time however it was Via who broke it.

"So…you're his ex huh?"

Christine swallowed and nodded. Stephen was right, there really was no beating around the bush with this kid.

"Yeah…I was."

"But it's all good with you two?" Via blurted out "I-I mean. You're both still friends?"

"Yeah…we are…I mean I still don't quite understand what's going on with all this magic hocus-pocus thing…but I guess if it works for him and makes him happy. Then who am I to judge?"

"right of course…." Via shut her mouth, then opened it, then shut it again. Then she swallowed and then said:

"Listen. I know you're nervous too so before we start anything let's just get the elephant out of my room. Why are you here? And why did you volunteer to help me out? Was it just to help Stephen? Get back into his good books or what?"

"What no!" Christine spluttered in shock "I-I mean, yes I want to help Stephen out. But no, no I don't want to get back together with him"

"Are you sure? And I mean are you really sure?" Via's eyes narrowed as she turned her piercing blue eyes over the other woman "Because I've lived with Stephen for quite a while now, and I may not know as much about him as you do, but I know enough to say that whatever is said and done, he still cares for you. A lot. He wouldn't have held onto that watch you gave him otherwise, or tried to email you so many times"

"He tried to email me?" Christine blinked "When?"

"Around a hundred times or so. I mean-" Via gulped, cursing herself for blabbing so quickly "-I mean he tried to email you, b-but he never quite got around to doing it. He always got stuck halfway and then would give up and try again a couple of days later."

"Oh…" Christine breathed feeling her heart sink a little, only for it to flare again as she felt a surge of fierce heat in her gut.

"Okay. Since we're trying to clear the cobwebs. Can you answer me this? Are you really okay with this adoption? Or are you just using Stephen to get out of the system and then run off into the blue with all his stuff? Because from what I've heard from him, he really seems to care about _you_ and he really wants to make this adoption work."

There was a silence as Via stared at the woman.

"I guess I deserved that one" she muttered and despite herself, Christine couldn't help but feel a little guilty, but she held her ground as she awaited the girl's answer which came out as a small sigh.

"Listen…I won't deny it. I really do not want to go back into the system. If I did go back I'd be going back to that orphanage and I just can't go back and-" she stopped to gulp down hard on the lump in her throat "-but I'm also glad I'm getting to stay with Stephen. He's not a perfect guardian by any stretch but he was also the first person ever to treat me like a normal human being and not like another street rat or a possession to be bought or sold over the counter. Also…If it weren't for him…I'd probably be dead…or worse so I guess I also owe him a lot. The least I can do is to be there for him when he needs it right?"

"I…I guess so…" Christine looked down to the ground, and though she still felt guilty about the jab, she also couldn't deny she felt somewhat relieved by the girl's admission. She may be rough around the edges, but at least she was sincere and for all her brusqueness she really did seem to care about Stephen…in her own odd way.

 _Maybe just maybe…this can work out after all._

She coughed and straightened up and Via did also, though Christine couldn't help but notice that her posture was somewhat more relaxed than before.

"Right…so now that's straightened out we have to get you-"

"Ready to look like a made-up clown?" Via pouted, glancing at the pink dress which was draped over her dress. "honestly I don't know why I have to go for this damn thing"

"Because Stephen panicked and did something stupid as per usual" Christine rolled her eyes, and was pleased to see a grin flicker over the younger girl's face as she snorted:

"You mean something stupider than usual?"

Christine smirked.

Oh yeah, she was going to like having this kid around.

* * *

 _After that heavy discussion, the talk between Christine and I was…well not easy but definitely_ _ **easier**_ _. I mean we still didn't really know each other that well, but still we managed to get along just fine._

 _Knowing Stephen back when he was an arrogant sod, I'd often assumed that Christine was just as snobbish and rude as he was. I'm glad to say that I was proven very wrong. She was a really nice, genuinely kind person with just enough of a spark that made her feisty._

 _It's just as well, dealing with Stephen Strange daily is not for the faint of heart. True he is a nice caring individual deep down, but as you guys have probably seen, he's not always the easiest person to get along with. Not that I'm a ray of sunshine myself but I digress._

 _Getting ready for the Charity Ball was easy once we got those first few hurdles out of the way. Now the only thing I had left to do was to get rid of my pre-ball jitters._

 _Should be easy for an apprentice to the mystic arts who has faced mad Zealots and inter-dimensional entities right?_

 _But no…no it wasn't_ _._

* * *

"Well. She's ready"

Stephen and Wong looked up to the staircase where Christine was quickly walking down towards where they both stood.

Wong was looking just about the same as he always did in his maroon gear, but Stephen was decked out in a dapper black suit with a matching black bow-tie, the red Cloak of Levitation hanging on his shoulders.

"I was going to leave it behind." He drawled as Christine eyed the sentient garment oddly "But then I thought, there are so many eccentric billionaire's attending, why not add a weird cult-worshipping doctor with a magic cape to the mix"

"Yeah, I'm sure the press is going to lap that up" Christine laughed. "But aren't you guys supposed to be a secret society or something? Surely there must be rules about magic in public"

"Oh, there are." Wong nodded as he reached out to gently tug the cloak from its masters shoulders. "Which is why you won't be going with your master"

The cloak chose at this point to give a small bristle, which Stephen knew meant she was not too pleased with the arrangement but was going to put up with it all the same.

Christine's smile softened as she saw her ex's face suddenly shift back to being nervous.

"Stephen. It's going to be fine." She said softly, putting her hand on his shoulder as she added quietly "She's a good kid."

Despite his nerves, the corners of his lips twitched upwards.

"Thanks Christine"

Christine was about to answer when a pair of footsteps sounded and Wong coughed from Stephen's side.

"Ahem"

"Oh right, hey Olivia we were just…" but Stephen's voice fell away as he caught sight of the figure on the stairs.

But no…that couldn't possibly be Olivia Summers…could it?

That girl he'd first met all those months ago at Kamar-Taj had been scrawny, dirty and malnourished, with matted yellow hair and wearing extremely tattered clothes far too big for her body.

This girl before him however was clean, very pretty, with a healthy toned body and glowing pale skin. She was wearing a delicate looking pale rose pink dress made from soft satin. It had off the shoulder neckline and a fifties style skirt that fell just above the ankle on which she wore simple short pale rose gold pump shoes. Her golden curls were pulled back into an elegant braided bun at the back of her head revealing a pair of bright blue eyes, accented with very natural shades of pink and gold and a small flick of black eyeliner. On her ears a small pair of golden hoops hung, matching the golden dream-catcher necklace that rested on her breast and the single bracelet of two dragons entwining that she wore over her right hand.

She smiled uncertainly as she caught sight of all three adults gazing transfixed at her as she carefully glided, yes glided, down the stairs, clinging tight to one of the banisters. In her arms, Stephen noticed, she was carrying a small black and gold clutch with a matching black and gold shawl.

"Hey…" Via's voice issued from the pretty girl as she waved sheepishly.

And suddenly the spell was lifted, and Stephen could see his ward, staring back at him nervously as she came level with them on the ground floor.

"Woah…" he managed to blurt out.

Via's face fell like a stone.

"What? It looks bad? Oh my god, I knew it, I knew I'd look crap in pink-" she turned back up to the stairs head low with embarrassment.

"What no! no-no-no-no-no-no-no!" Wong, Christine and Stephen all reached out to pull her back quickly.

"Alright! Alright let go! So…I do look okay or what?" Via cried out as she shoved the hands off her.

" _Okay_? Olivia have you even looked at yourself in a mirror?" Stephen chuckled at her bemusement.

"I have but I honestly don't know what to think" she admitted stiffly.

"What is there to think about. You look fine" Wong shook his head in exasperation, as if he were stating the most obvious fact in the universe. "Come on, this deserves a photo"

"Wait what? No-WONG!"

* * *

 _And that is why I've always hated photos._

 _…_

 _…_

 _LOL, just kidding. Though it's true I'm not a photogenic person, I've found that I quite enjoy taking photographs of other people and places, except when it comes to selfies because honestly, I still don't understand the point of such vanity. (Maybe I'm just weird like that, I don't know)_

 _But anyways soon after Wong and Stephen practically dragged me into a set of (very embarrassing) photos in that dress a car pulled up and its driver knocked on the door._

 _It was Tony Stark's personal bodyguard slash chauffer himself, "Happy" Hogan._

 _Ha! Oh good old Happy…even back then he was still kinda grumpy. But I guess when you've got to babysit a guy like Tony Stark nearly twenty-four-seven it can be quite exhausting._

 _Still I was glad for the trip. I mean we could've gone by sling ring, but then Stephen and I wouldn't have been able to buy time for us to mentally prep ourselves._

 _Also, it would make our entrance less conspicuous…or at least less conspicuous in the mystical sense because nothing could've prepared us for that red carpet or those flashing lights outside the Avengers Tower._

 _God, I can still remember it like it was yesterday, and I don't mean that in a nice way._

 _Trust me it seems glamorous, but having photographers flashing you with their cameras and yelling loudly into your ears does get old very fast._

 _And by fast I mean within the first three minutes._

* * *

"Ow!" Via winced as a wall of flashing lights suddenly hit her face, almost stumbling backwards from the surprise.

"Careful" Stephen muttered as he took her by the arm in gentlemanly fashion and steered her down the red carpet.

"thanks. God that's bright." She muttered exasperated as she rubbed her eyes, but Stephen could feel her grip on his arm tighten like a vice and could see the way she gulped as she craned her head to look at the façade of the very tall, very imposing tower that loomed above.

She was looking more anxious then when she'd had to go for her first lesson in the mystic arts at Kamar-Taj all those months ago.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

"Y-yeah. I'm totally cool. I'm not panicking whatsoever" she spluttered as she tried and failed to fake a wide smile.

"Just relax. Take a deep breath and take it one step at a time. We're almost inside" he smirked when she rolled her eyes.

"yeah that doesn't make me feel any better Doc"

Despite himself Stephen found himself chuckling, much to her frustration.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing" he assured her, his smirk softening ever so slightly and his voice dropping to a murmur as they finally approached the open front doors. "Don't worry you're not the only one that's nervous"

Via quirked a brow up at him but already he was fixing a _charming_ smile onto his face, even if his light eyes weren't so jolly.

They entered the building where they were immediately greeted by a Caucasian woman with dark brown hair tied back in a neat bun and wearing a purple dress and carrying a smart-pad in her hands.

"Doctor Stephen Strange and Miss Olivia Summers." She spoke with well-practiced professional cordiality though her eyes were glued to her smart pad.

"My name is Maria Hill if you would both follow me to the… VIP... area…"

The woman, Maria, stopped in her tracks as her gaze fell on Via's face.

"Holy crap" she mouthed under her breath but Stephen caught sight of the expression right away. But then the moment was gone and she was her poised self again.

"Uh…are you alright Miss?" Via bit her lip nervously.

"Yes. Yes of course, sorry about that" Maria shook herself a little as she turned her attention quickly to her smart-pad. "Right now as I was saying, if you would both follow me to the VIP area? Mister Stark is expecting you both"

"VIP?" Via blinked but was quickly steamrolled by Stephen who nodded and smiled politely.

"Of course. Thank you Miss Hill"

"Right" Maria nodded and seemed only too keen to turn her back on the two of them as she led them quickly towards a lift. As they moved they passed a few other glamorously dressed guests, many of whom were staring the doctor and his ward with a mixture of awe, envy, jealousy and (in the case of some women staring at Stephen) attraction.

Via looked up at Stephen, preparing herself for the smirk of appreciation and the puffing out his plumage, only to find his face furrowed in a small frown.

"Stephen?"

"Hmm?" Stephen glanced down at her, then catching sight of her worried expression he sighed. "What?"

"Okay. Fine, I'll let you be for now. After all I wouldn't want to cut into your _precious_ brooding time." Via rolled her eyes smirking as he scowled at her and followed her into the lift.

"I don't brood" he mumbled and she snorted.

"Uh-huh, sure"

He glowered at her, she grinned cheekily back. The corners of his lips quirked upwards.

It was at that moment the doors to the lift opened.

They seemed to be standing on a very large balcony like setup that stood high above a large ballroom where over a hundred people at least were milling about, dancing, chatting and socializing. Up here on the balcony however were at most fifty people. Some of whom were great big-wig Richie-riches Via recognized from the news…and some people who looked-

"Ah there you two are! "

There striding towards them with a wide grin was Tony Stark, in all his suave exuberant self, wearing a black tuxedo, with his bow-tie askew as he tugged on it to free up his neck.

"Strange" Tony's jaw was tense as he forced a smile onto his face and held out a hand in greeting.

"Stark" Stephen took it and gripped it firmly. "You look well. How long has it been since we last met?"

"Yeah, two years ago in London. That award ceremony at the Ritz."

"Ah yes now I remember-"

Behind both men's backs Via could see Maria Hill spare her and Stephen one last fleeting look as she quickly melded back into the crowd and vanished from sight.

She felt something nudge her and was jolted back to reality when Tony held out a hand towards her, giving her a far sincerer grin than the one he had just shown to her guardian.

"And you must be Olivia…."

"Summers" Via filled in stiffening a little as she felt his eyes scanning her face intently, like a computer search. "But everyone calls me Via"

"Via?" Tony let go of her hand and scratched his goatee. "Hmm…I like it. Original, simple, easy to remember. Oh, and by the way, uh, nice dress, very Audrey Hepburn. Must've cost a fortune."

 _Money and brands huh? Should've known?_

"Thanks…I guess" Via smiled through gritted teeth "But no. no it didn't cost too much mister Stark-"

"Oh please call me Tony. Here have a lemonade-" Tony waved her down grinning as he snagged a glass of lemonade and promptly thrust it into her hands before she could refuse. "Mister Stark just makes me sound like an, old and graying man"

"Well…you are old enough to be my father" Via blurted out before she could stop herself.

She couldn't help it. The man was almost like Stephen was when she first met him. Arrogant, spoiled, smug…the only difference was, was that when she met Stephen, he had been at a very low place in his life and had no one and nothing left. Tony Stark on the other hand-

There was a loud spluttering sound and Via turned to see a dark-skinned man in a suit to their left choking on his drink as he laughed at Tony's expense.

"HA-ha-ha! Oh-that- that was a good one! She just called you old right to your face!"

"Yeah, yeah laugh it up Rhodey" Tony Stark's ears turned red. Via supposed she should've felt a little guilty, but was stopped when she saw Stephen smirking with something akin to pride through the corner of her eye.

"Strange, _Via_ this is my good friend Colonel Rhodes" Tony sighed, deflating a little as he stepped back to let Rhodey shake hers and Stephen's hands.

"Strange huh? As in the world famous Neurosurgeon?" Rhodey looked Stephen up and down.

"Yes I am…or at least I was" Stephen muttered the last bit.

"Till that car accident? We saw it on the news. That looked pretty nasty. Shame about your hands" Tony coughed, sparing a small glance down at the doctor's scarred lightly trembling hand.

The sight made Stephen's blood boil. Whilst a part of him knew the billionaire hadn't meant to sound so condescending but there was still a part of him, the proud arrogant arsehole from his life before, that wanted nothing more than to shut that man's trap before he drew any more attention to his shameful-

He felt Via gave the arm looped around her own a gentle squeeze. Though her hand was much smaller, there was something about the warmth of it that soothed his temper and granted him enough composure to take a deep breath and force a smile on his face as he said.

"Yes…a shame…but I'm taking it one day at a time and I'm doing much better"

"You really want to say something else, don't you?" Tony deadpanned and Stephen smirked, a slightly sinister.

"Yes, but it wouldn't really be appropriate to say in front of my new ward. Now if you'll excuse us, I would like to greet Doctor Cho, it's been _ages_ since I last spoke to her"

And with that he promptly dragged Via off to approach a tall very pretty Asian woman dressed in red.

Rhodey looked at Tony who was blinking in surprise at the Doctor's back.

"What the heck was that about?" he asked and his friend almost face palmed.

"Tony-"

"What? All I said was that it was a shame about his hands-"

"A shame about who's hands?" a voice piped in and Tony wheeled around as his girlfriend Pepper Potts strode into view in a very fitting black dress, the one loose strand of her red hair gently falling by her face.

"Uh…mine because they aren't on-" he started to say as he straightened himself up, but was stopped by Rhodey's snort.

"Stephen Strange. Tony just tried talking to him about injuring his hands in the car accident"

"Good god Tony." Pepper groaned, pinching her nose.

"What? What else do you expect me to say-"

"Tony, the man has been a recluse for nearly two years. And this is probably the first time he's been out in public" Pepper hissed as she stepped in close to keep the conversation private. "he last thing he wants or needs is people pestering him about such a traumatic event"

"It wasn't like I was trying to make fun of him. I was just wondering how he was doing, that's all." Tony pouted, looking less like an adult hero and more like a petulant child.

"I know you weren't. Just…-" Pepper sighed half torn between fondness and exasperation as she saw her boyfriend's gaze was now fixed on the pink form of Via, who had his back towards her.

"Wait…is that…his new kid? The one who-" She breathed eyes bulging.

"Yep" Tony nodded, scowling a little as Rhodey smirked beside him.

"You should've been here when Tony introduced himself. She called him old"

"She called you _what_?" Pepper chortled as Tony's cheeks flushed.

"I told her not to call me mister Stark because it made me sound like an old man. But then she said that I was already old enough to be her old man" he muttered darkly, cheeks turning magenta as Pepper and Rhodey now both openly started laughing.

They couldn't help it. After all it wasn't everyday someone openly roasted Tony Stark.

* * *

 _And that was how I met Tony Stark._

 _Yeah. I know I probably could've been a little nicer but really, this is_ _ **me**_ _we're talking about. And the chances of me making a good first impression on anyone is not that great._

 _Anyways the party went on surprisingly well after that. Stephen introduced me to Doctor Helen Cho, a world renowned geneticist from South Korea and an old contemporary of his. She was nice I suppose, but I probably would've enjoyed our conversation more if both she and Stephen would've talked about something else other than advanced genetics._

 _Don't get me wrong. After all the wonders I have seen I now rather enjoy talking science and new tech, but back then I was still quite green and my academic studies weren't quite up to scratch. As such, the conversation got very boring, very fast for me._

 _And so it wasn't long before I sought out an empty table, in a corner where no one would come and bother me…_

 _Well…no one except for_ _ **him**_.

* * *

"argh god! Damn these shoes!" Via growled as she rubbed her ankle. Her shoes weren't high, in fact they seemed almost downright flat in comparison to some of the other heels the other women around her were wearing. But still, for a girl so used to grubby trainers, training sandals and walking barefooted, these shoes were a killer in their own right.

"Enjoying the party?" an amused voice asked quietly. It was a deep and mellow voice, calm soothing. And very familiar.

Via gasped as she turned to face the owner of the voice, her eyes almost tearing up with joy as she took in a dark, kindly but strong face.

"Mordo!" she quickly set down her glass on the table, and reached out to pull him into a tight hug. She didn't care if anyone would see her, she was just so happy to see him and he obviously was happy to see her because she felt him return the gesture gladly before gently prizing her off him.

"Hello, Olivia" he smiled down at her as she quickly wiped at the corners of her eyes, only to suddenly smack his chest, HARD.

"No-no-no-no! Don't _hello_ me! You just decide to walk away after a brutal fight, go disappear on us for nearly two weeks and then suddenly pop up at this Shindig right next to me? What are you doing here? Where the _hell_ have you been?" she slapped his chest hard again.

 _For such a small thing, she sure hits hard._

Mordo winced, his smile softening as he rubbed the spot she hit.

Yes, there she was, under all the fancy clothes and makeup, the favourite pupil he knew so well.

"We've all been worried sick about you!" she whispered fiercely, eyes flashing.

"So I can see" he smirked down on her as he stepped back to take in her full appearance "You look wonderful."

"Oh uh…you really think so?" Via felt herself go beetroot red "Because these are my mom's clothes, I got them from all her stuff from London and…well we just s-shrank them down today to fit me so I didn't really know if…Damn it" she cursed herself for her stutters.

"I'm glad to see you've recovered. I was afraid that after that fight with Kaesilius and Russo-"

"Yeah…that was…well…" Via looked down to the ground, eyes ever so slightly bright and wet. But she sucked in a deep breath and straightened herself out.

"Well that's over and done with now. They're all gone and we're all safe."

"I suppose we are" Mordo grunted stiffly, not meeting her gaze. "Now that Strange is set to become the next _sorcerer supreme"_

Via stared at him in shock. Was it just her, or was her ex-mentor sounding…repulsed?

"Mordo," she put a gentle hand on his arm. "I know what went down with you and the Ancient One was…well it was shit. But she-"

"She distorted the natural order" Mordo muttered darkly.

"She did what she thought was right." Via said quietly "I agree, what she did may not have been the best choice. And yes, it was wrong of her to lie to everyone, but-"

"But there is no excuse" Mordo snapped tugging his arm out of her grip "She was a master of the mystic arts, she should've known better"

"Maybe." Via nodded, her gaze pleading "but she was also a person"

"Which means what exactly?" Mordo frowned.

"Which means…she could also make mistakes. Like you or me"

"She shouldn't have-" Mordo caught himself, feigning a cough as he gulped down a lump in his throat "She was supposed to be the protector of the Earth. She couldn't afford mistakes. You saw what happened because of her actions. You saw first-hand how much damage and destruction came from her blunders."

"Yeah I did. And I know she regretted every moment of it. You guys may have held her on some kind of pedestal but she was still a human being. She had faults just like everyone else, and no matter what's happened she's entitled to a few mistakes" Via muttered quietly, anger brewing deep in her gut as she watched him scoff under his breath.

How dare he scoff, a small section of her brain hissed. How dare he scoff about mistakes, when he was the one who decided to walk out on them barely a few days ago without even the slightest bit of hesitation.

"Olivia" Mordo rubbed his temples as he turned to face her. "You are…an incredible young woman. One of the most observant and honest people I've ever met. But you're still too young to understand the weight of the responsibilities a sorcerer supreme must take. They are protectors of the multiverse, the ones that keep the Earth safe from all manner of evils and monsters, you could not even imagine. As a being in such a position, you cannot afford to make such terrible mistakes…even if you are only human"

There was a tinkling sound and both Via and Mordo quickly looked up to see Tony Stark standing at a podium that had been erected somewhere on the other end of the great platform.

"Hello? Is this thing on?" he asked into the microphone.

"I must go. Goodbye Olivia" Mordo whispered turning his back on Via who started suddenly as many people around her suddenly swarmed forwards towards the podium.

"What-wait-Mordo-" but already his back was swallowed by the crowd.

"Don't go…" she whispered, though no one heard her…all save one.

* * *

 _And so once again, Baron Karl Mordo vanished from my life again. I still can't believe he's aristocracy. But then again he always was so well spoken and mannered…_

 _But what probably got to me the most was just how easily he could just turn his back on me straight after giving me a lecture. Of which he was quite wrong about I might add._

 _I might not have seen much in the ways of the mystic arts, but I have seen my fair share of monsters._

 _And the scariest things about those evil creatures was that even though they were cruel and rotten on the inside…on the outside they looked just like everyone else._

* * *

The speech was long winded and boring. Or at least it was boring to Via who just slumped behind everyone and stared up at Tony Stark through a daze, barely even clapping as he finished to many a cheer and applause.

She just couldn't believe Mordo could just appear and disappear on her like that again. She knew she had only been his student but still…he had been one of the few adults to truly believe in her when very few would. He was a great warrior and a good teacher, one whom she had looked up to…had admired…had wanted to be like…

But he wanted nothing more to do with her and Stephen it seemed.

And quite frankly a small part of her couldn't blame him.

 _I should've known he'd up and go…most adults do that when they find out something about me…and after everything that happened with Cassian and his dad-_

"Hey, kid" a deep voice with a British accent spoke from her side.

Via blinked and felt her gut sink in absolute horror.

A man was standing in front of her in a grey tux, tall with slicked back white blonde hair, dark beady eyes and a thin pointed face.

"You…"

* * *

 **Dun-dun-DUUUUUN! and i'll just leave you all there to wait at the edge of another cliffhanger.**

 **but don't worry it won't be for long.**

 **So yeah, Via got ready for a ball, finally met Christine Palmer, insulted Tony Stark and argued with Mordo (Don't worry that bit will be explained later)**

 **I admit i was a bit stuck on how Via was going to meet Christine and Tony for the first time. I kinda figured that she and Christine would get along but that it would take time for them to warm up properly to one another. As for Tony Stark, I did want them to become** **buddies right off the bat. But then i looked back at Via and kinda realized that with the way she is, she'd probably not like him too much at first. For one thing Tony comes from a privileged wealthy background and always flaunts it (something which would rub her up the wrong way) and for another he's still just as arrogant and egotistical as Stephen Strange was when he first met Via, which means sparks will fly (for those who read Dreamcatcher you'll know exactly what i'm talking about XD).**

 **But yeah so Mordo came back (why though is the big question) as did mystery stalker from chapter 1. Who is he really and what does he want with Via? You'll have to read more to find out ;)**

 **Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed, please review if you enjoyed. Your feedback is always appreciated :)**

 **Cheers**

 **FuzzyBeta**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Hell hath no fury**

 _That day I met Cornelius Craven…was one of the scariest moments of my life._

 _To an ordinary person who doesn't know him, or is oblivious to all the terrors of the world, he'd seem like an ordinary (if slightly creepy) guy._

 _To twelve-year-old me however, he was my worst nightmare as he stood in front of that jet black armoured car. He wanted to take me away. Promised me that I'd go to a good home where I was safe and wanted._

 _Had I not been so distrusting as a kid, I might've gone with him. But (thankfully) something stopped me._

 _I cannot explain it. There was just something about him that made my skin crawl._

 _Maybe it was the way he looked at me, like a panther about to pounce at any moment, but I knew that if I crossed this man he wouldn't hesitate to kill me. And I don't mean killing me by just shooting me. I mean killing me in the most sadistic, slowest way imaginable…and he'd enjoy it._

 _You'd think that after living under the violent rule of Billy for all my childhood that I'd be unafraid of such a man._

 _But nothing could be further from the truth, because two years later when I met him at Tony's party I was still just as scared of him._

 _And for good reason._

* * *

"You" Via breathed, her eyes darting around. But no matter where she looked she could see no escape.

The man just smirked as he fingered his small tumbler of scotch.

"Hello Miss Summers, or is it Strange now? Two surnames to choose from, it must be tough huh?"

Via didn't say anything, how could she? This was just too horrible-

"Agh! That's better" the man gulped down the last of his drink, pausing as he caught sight of her wary glower. "Such a fire, even after all this time."

"I'll show you fire asshole" Via snapped gripping her own glass tight. The thought of smashing it and using the broken fragments as a weapon was a very appealing option right now.

"Tut-tut. Pretty girls shouldn't be using such foul language"

"Why? Because we should be catering to the whims of bastards like you?" Via spat quietly, setting down her glass and instead fingering the twin dragon bracelet that glimmered on her right wrist.

If she could just hide the glow beneath her skirt, she might be able to transform Asmund into a tiny dagger, or at least something small and sharp before this man tried anything.

As if guessing her thoughts, the man smirked.

"Nice try kid. But you'll have to think of a better strategy than that. Oh man if I had a penny for every time Freyja pulled that trick on me-"

"What?" Via felt her veins freeze to ice as the man's eyes glinted wickedly.

"You heard me kid, Freyja, your birth mother. Remarkable woman, if I should say so myself. Though I'm surprised it took you this long to find out. I suppose Elias did his job well covering his tracks"

"Wait what-Who's Elias? Who are you?" Via spluttered as the man suddenly straightened up and turned his back on her, still smirking.

"Sorry kid, Q and A is over. If you want more answers then you'll just have to come and find me. Don't worry…I'll be patient"

"Wait-hold it-!" Via reached forwards to grab at the man's sleeve, only to smack her face directly into someone who suddenly decided to stride across her path.

With a cry she reeled backwards, her heel catching on the hem of her dress. There was a tug, her legs flew upwards and she landed squarely on her back, her head throbbing as it hit the ground with a thud.

She could vaguely hear some gasps of surprise and some laughter all around her as she opened her eyes, her vision swimming a little as she stared up at the brightly lit ceiling.

"Ow…" she winced as someone's shadow suddenly obscured her vision.

"You okay kid?" a man's voice spoke as his face swam in and out of focus. From what she could see he had dark hair and a kindly face and careful gentle hands that were currently lifting her head to inspect the back.

"Yeah…yeah…I'm okay" she grunted as she gingerly got up onto her elbows, only to sway a little as her head throbbed.

"Whoa-easy there. Take it slow. You've got a big lump back here" the man caught her before she could hit the ground and carefully maneuvered her up into a sitting position. "Natasha do you think you could get some ice?"

"Don't worry Bruce, Tony's already called for some"

Via turned and saw a very beautiful woman with short curly red hair dressed all in black turn to smirk to a very pale and very sheepish-

"Oh…hi" Via gulped as the big blonde Goliath from two days ago knelt by her side holding out a packet of ice.

"I'm sorry miss, once again, I wasn't watching where I was going"

"It's okay. It's not the first time this has happened." Via took the packet from him and pressed it against the back of her head. "Ah…that's better"

"Again? You two have met before?" The brown-haired man next to her frowned.

"Yes, two days ago we bumped into one another in the street. Nice to see you again uh…" Via held out her free hand. The man just looked at it for a moment confused, until the red-haired woman, Natasha, nudged him with her heeled foot.

"Oh, right of course," He coughed reaching out to carefully shake Via's hand "I am Thor, Prince of Asgard and the Son of Odin. Forgive me but I am still not used to some Midgardian customs"

"Yeah…join the club" Via smirked as she finally pulled herself up into a proper sitting position, helped of course by the dark-haired man by her side.

"Thanks mister…?"

"Bruce, and this is my…uh…friend Natasha" he gulped his cheeks going pink as Natasha behind him gave a short nod, her eyes scanning Via's face with intense scrutiny.

"So uh…what are you guys doing here?" Via gulped, feeling her cheeks turn pink under the scrutinizing gaze.

"We live here" another voice piped in, and a sandy haired man with sharp eyes suddenly popped his head over Natasha's shoulder.

"Hey kid, the name's Clint Barton,"

"Via…Via Summers" Via said again as she shakily stood to her feet, both Thor and Bruce's hands hovering carefully around her as she did. After a small stumble she found her feet and straightened up.

"Summers? As in Olivia Summers?" Clint asked excitedly.

"Uh yeah?" Via blinked as Clint's face split into a wide grin.

"Ha! So you're the one who called Tony an old man?"

"She what?" Thor snorted with laughter.

"Yeah. Apparently, she called him old right to his face when she first met him" Clint grinned wide.

"Well that would explain why he's a bit moody tonight" Natasha smirked as Bruce tried to hide his own behind his hand.

"I didn't mean to call him old" Via felt her cheeks go red with embarrassment "It just slipped out. Besides I didn't really say he was old…just that he was old enough to be my father"

All four of the Avengers present snorted with laughter, even Bruce couldn't restrain his chuckles as he patted her shoulder gently.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it. It's about time something like this happened."

"Yeah kid you have no idea, how many girls fawn over him. But this is just gold! And speaking of old men" Clint smirked as two people suddenly strode up behind him.

It was Tony Stark, practically dragging along a very rattled Steve Rogers.

"-Thanks Tony. Hey guys" he sighed in relief as he straightened out his slightly askew bow-tie.

"Sofia Caster was piling onto him again, so I pulled off an emergency one-man rescue mission" Tony explained and the avengers all nodded in understanding. All save Via who frowned in confusion.

"I'm sorry but who?"

"Sofia Caster, super model, super bitch and number one _fan_ of our good Friend Captain America" Clint sniggered as Steve's ears turned pink upon catching sight of Via.

"Oh hi kid."

"Hey yourself. How's it going?" Via gave a small salute much to Thor's surpise.

"You two know each other?"

"We met last week." Steve coughed slightly "at Central park. She was…uh…you were…"

"I was being accosted by some thugs and Captain Rogers here helped me out"

"Really? _Captain Rogers_ rescued you?" Tony grunted, grimacing a little as Natasha spared him an incredulous glare.

 _What the hell am I getting all worked up for? I've dealt with Stephen Strange for nearly a year. I can sure as hell deal with this childish pompous ass._

Via thought to herself as she smirked.

"Yep, he sure did _Old Man._ "

Tony narrowed his eyes at her. Via just met his gaze, as cool as a cucumber, hands on her hips.

Then he suddenly sighed, his scowl being quickly replaced by a small chuckle.

"Okay I guess I deserved that one."

"Understatement of the century" Clint muttered under his breath, but Tony ignored her as he said.

"Another understatement" Natasha muttered, still eyeing Via up and down carefully. "So, you're Stephen Strange's kid huh?"

"Yeah…well ward actually. The adoption process only just started" Via shrugged, cheeks slightly pink as Bruce frowned.

"Adopted…So he's not your actual-"

"Huh? Oh no. No, we're not biologically related. At least I don't think we are." Via pressed the cool pack tighter to the back of her head.

"Sorry it's just from the way he was talking about you…you seemed quite close"

"Yeah well…" Via bit her lip.

Damn. How on earth was she going to explain this?

She was spared the trouble as a woman came striding towards their group.

She was tall with dyed blonde hair and wore heels that were as tall as stilts (in Via's opinion). Her satiny dress was a very bold lurid shade of green and was pulled tightly about her voluptuous form, leaving nothing to the imagination. Via found herself wincing as the light hit all the silver and jewels that adorned her neck and ears and dress.

But what irritated Via most of all was her face. Now Via had no problem with girls who decided to doll themselves up with a little make-up (like her best friend Meeta), but by god was this woman trying so hard it was ridiculous. She didn't need the make-up she was pretty enough without it, but still she'd caked it on. And then there was the way she started clinging to Steve's side like a barnacle as she got close.

"Oh, Stevie why'd you run off like that, we were having such a good time."

"Sorry Sophie. You can blame me. We needed to have a team talk." Tony cut in before Steve could utter one word.

"Ooh team talk. Sounds fun" Sophie giggled, a sound that to Via sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard. "Talk about what"

"Oh we wanted to introduce him to Stephen Strange's new ward. She's a big Captain America Fan you know" Tony smirked at Via who scowled mutinously at him.

She supposed this was his payback for being called an old man.

"Stephen Strange's _what_?" Sophie sneered as her eyes found Via, roving over her pink dress with abject resent.

"Ward" Via blinked nervously. "Y'know, as in he's my legal guardian."

There was a pause, and then.

"Ha! Hahahahaha! Oh good, oh that's a good one Tony. Ahahahahaha!" Sophie hiccupped practically leaning on Steve as she giggled and pointed at Via who now folded her arms rolling her eyes. "Oh-oh that's just too cute."

"Uh...Sophie…she isn't joking. She really is his kid. He brought her here as his plus one" Steve frowned catching Bruce's eye as he nervously shifted on his feet. Even Clint and Thor were looking uncomfortable as Sophie snorted.

"Oh come now, you can't expect me to believe that a man as highbrow as Stephen Strange is adopting this…scrawny, _tasteless,_ miserable little thing? Why that dress is so old fashioned-"

" _Tasteless_? Excuse me Lady but when was the last time **_you_** looked in a mirror?"

"Well I never-"

"Never did what? Learn any respect?" Via put her hands on her hips. "Wow, now that really is a surprise. Seriously, I've met women on the street with more dignity then you."

"Why you little-"

"Hey you both want to know what is a surprise-" Tony quickly chimed in, panicking a little as he caught sight of Natasha glaring at him reproachfully "-The cake. Yes, we've got cake! Who wants some? Hill bring up the cake-"

"Yeah Tony, cake's a great idea" Steve meaningfully looked at his friends for support.

But Sophie was glaring at Via with so much venom that half the people watching her were expecting a forked tongue to slither out of her mouth as she hissed:

"Listen kid, just because Stephen Strange took pity on you doesn't mean you're suddenly all that. You can dress as… _fancily-"_ she sneered down at Via's dress as she took a step forwards "-as you want, but let's get one thing straight. You will never _belong_ in this crowd. You are, and will always be, a little brat who obviously was ditched at some dump, because her mama never learned to keep her legs shut-"

"Sophie!" Someone yelled.

There was a ringing silence as all the avengers stared in stunned silence at Via, who was now standing, arms folded, staring Sophie Caster down, her eyes a bright blue fire. And it wasn't just the Avengers who were staring. Half the people around them had stopped talking to watch with mild interest as Via looked down to the floor, her fists clenching tight.

"Y'know, for a rich woman who supposedly has class, you really are a bitch"

Then without warning her hand swiped out, snagging a plate of cake a waiter was about to pass out to someone, and thrust it straight into Sophie Caster's face.

"AHMGAHA!" Sophie yelled as the young girl pushed her face further and further into the mixture of sponge, cream and icing before yanking it off her face and shoving the rest of it straight into the plunging neckline of her dress.

The plate fell to the floor with a clatter as, snarling, Via straightened up and shook her icing covered hands.

"Mister Stark, where's the ladies room? I really need to clean up." She asked through gritted teeth.

"Down the corridor to your left and first door to the right" a computer like voice of a man suddenly sounded from the now very stunned billionaire's pocket.

"Uh…thanks…whoever that was" Via shrugged, and before anyone could even do or say anything she turned on her heel and stormed off out of the very silent VIP platform.

* * *

 _Yeah…so I gave a cake in the face to Sophie Caster. Not one of my shining moments, but still by god that woman deserved it._

 _I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with, but still…I don't know._

 _Something just doesn't sit right with me about the whole ordeal, and quite frankly every single other confrontation I've had with people I don't like. Either people like me quickly and overlook my flaws, or they get aggressively confrontational really fast. It's weird._

 _Is it just me? Am I really such a confrontational person? Or is it something more? Is there something about me that just makes people feel threatened?_

 _I once asked Stephen about it but he stayed suspiciously quiet and told me not to worry about it. Why he did that I have no idea. But I hope that in time, he might tell me before something even worse happens._

* * *

It had been a long time since Stephen Strange had been to a party. Nearly two years ago in fact. He'd almost forgotten how much he'd enjoyed this kind of thing. The lights, the music, the champagne…

Granted he was at Tony Stark's party, but still, there were several of the worlds most renowned scientists in attendance so at least he was assured of good company.

And Via, he was so impressed by how well she handled herself. True she had a couple of hiccups at the beginning with Tony Stark, but when he'd introduced her to Helen Cho she'd been a perfect lady and had listened politely until she'd gotten bored and then quietly excused herself.

 _Perhaps I should see how she's doing. It's been a while since I've seen her._

He quickly excused himself from the group of his current raconteurs (which included a rather bright and pretty Astro-physicist called Jane Foster) and began turning his head around for signs of his young ward.

When he caught sight of her, he was surprised to find her at the completely opposite end of the platform and talking with a group of people he had no trouble recognising.

 _Thor? Black Widow? The Hulk and Hawkeye?_

"Huh…well what do you know" he smirked as he watched her laugh and smirk with the four Avengers, who all likewise were looking quite at ease with the young girl.

Even Tony Stark and Captain Rogers both seemed to be enjoying her company as they joined the laughing group.

But then again, Stephen couldn't really blame them. She may have been a rough and tough girl, but deep down she had a good heart. Anyone with a working pair of eyes could see that from a mile off.

Everyone except Sophie Caster.

 _That vile, poisonous snake._

He thought as he eyed her moving through the crowd.

Back when he was the world's best doctor, she'd hung onto his arm at nearly every function they met at. At first, he'd been flattered by the attention, but as time passed he found her company to be increasingly repulsive.

Even tonight, he'd purposefully avoided her like she was the plague. But even so he'd kept a close watch on her as he heard her flitting about asking questions about him and his new ward, spreading gossip about them both for her own amusement.

 _God what is that woman up to now?_

Stephen narrowed his eyes as he saw said woman stride up to the Avengers and Via and latch herself onto the Captain, regarding Via with an expression befitting a green-eyed monster.

 _She certainly is dressed like one._

Stephen snorted, folding his arms as he leaned back to watch the show. If there was one thing Via could do it was put someone in their place (as she'd done so many times to him).

He wished he hadn't stayed still.

True Via had managed to handle the dreadful woman with that rapier sharp tongue of hers, but then Sophie had to go and put her foot in it.

"-You will never _belong_ in this crowd. You are, and will always be, a little brat who obviously was ditched at some dump, because her mama never learned to keep her legs shut"

It was only a split second but Stephen saw it at once. That horrible shocked look of hurt, the slight tearing up of Via's eyes.

"Sophie!" He felt his gut burn hotly with fury as he shoved his way through the crowd.

But even as he reached the group he was too late.

Via had already shoved a plate of cake into the woman's face and chest.

Had he not been so angry at Sophie's stupidity, he might've laughed at the ridiculous sight before him. But all he could focus on right now was the young girl who was storming off the platform and into a corridor, tears starting to fall down her eyes despite her trying to hold them back.

"Olivia!" he called but already she had turned a corner and had vanished out of sight.

"Strange-I uh-we-" Tony Stark gulped, his shock rendering him unusually sheepish as the doctor rounded on him, pale eyes flashing.

"What happened?" he growled, and the man of iron was reminded very forcibly of a rabid wolf ready to bite.

"Ask Sophie. She's the one responsible for this mess" Natasha Romanov glared daggers at said woman who was retching and coughing as she wiped cake from her face.

"Why that little brat-how dare she-I'll show her-"

"The only thing you're going to show my ward is an apology, _Caster._ And if I catch you talking to her like that ever again you'll have me to deal with, and I assure you you'll get more than just a cake to the face," Stephen quietly snarled, so viciously that, Clint Steve and Thor instantly bristled, ready to act should they need to restrain him.

Behind them Bruce Banner was quietly trying to shrink into the background, though if anyone was looking at him closely they'd be able to see his knuckles had turned faintly green as they balled into fists by his sides.

But then the moment passed, and with a deep breath Stephen straightened himself up forcing a polite but cool look of indifference onto his face as he addressed Tony.

"Stark, if you wouldn't mind, I could do with some help finding my ward."

"Uh…Sure…" Tony nodded, fiddling with something in his pocket as he quickly addressed his team "Guys if you could um…settle everyone else. Hill if you wouldn't mind showing Sophie Caster out after she's uh…cleaned up that would be great."

"Of course." Maria Hill piped in as she suddenly reappeared from behind someone.

Stephen frowned slightly at this. That woman was far too good at sneaking around to be completely normal.

 _Must be an agent…like Miss Romanov_

He figured as he chanced one glance at said assassin who was standing amidst her teammates, eyeing him warily as he and Tony Stark walked off the platform and down a long corridor.

Once they were safely out of earshot of everyone else, Tony sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry about all that mess with Caster." He said and Stephen looked at him in surprise.

"It's not your fault" Stephen clipped tersely.

"I usually don't invite her because Cap hates her" Tony continued awkwardly, trying hard to look at anything but the man next to him. "but she managed to sneak her way in as someone's plus one"

"Yes, she's quite good at that" Stephen shook his head.

Tony chuckled.

"Yeah, I know. But if I had known she'd be here I'd have chucked her out. Especially if I had known she was gonna treat the kid like that-"

"Alright, first off her name is Olivia. Not kid" Stephen clipped irritably. "And secondly, if you honestly did care you wouldn't have let the situation escalate like that"

"…okay I guess I kinda deserved that" Tony muttered, quietly "Though honestly, how was I supposed to know she'd stoop that low-"

"Because it's not the first time she's **_stooped that low_** " Stephen sneered

"…touché" Tony allowed himself a small smirk. "That being said, your new _ward_ is quite the young lady-"

"I thought you had outgrown looking at young women when you started dating the _lovely_ Miss Potts" Stephen smirked and was pleased to see Tony scowl irritably.

"Very funny" he snapped "I just meant…Most girls Caster bullies tend to crumble under pressure. But yours…She's got real guts. Not many kids would have the balls to do what she did in there."

"You have no idea" Stephen murmured and for the first time Tony saw the man, his face was softer, kinder even affectionate as he nodded quietly to himself.

Tony shivered. He had thought things were weird before but now this was just pushing it.

"I'm sorry, but who are you and what have you done to Stephen Strange?" He asked and was secretly relieved when Stephen raised an imperious brow at him.

"Meaning?"

"Well…it's just…all this" Tony gestured to him wildly "You disappear for two whole years and then you just pop up out of the blue acting all humble and polite, adopting a kid-"

"You got a problem with that Stark?" Stephen narrowed his eyes.

"No-no! There's no problem. If you want to turn your life around that's fine. Good for you but…I'm just saying it's a surprise that's all. I mean, no offence but the last time I met you…you were quite-"

"A selfish asshole?" Stephen provided, and Tony was surprised to see the man chuckle. "I guess I've heard worse"

"From who? The kid?"

"Of course, who else?" Stephen smirked, only to grimace as realization suddenly hit him. "And speaking of her, where is she?"

"I thought you knew. That's why I followed you" The billionaire shrugged as the doctor groaned.

"Well I thought you knew so I was following you."

"Well I don't know, I just thought you were following her path"

"Well that's just perfect. It's the blind leading the f-ing blind" Stephen muttered as he rubbed his temple.

"Or maybe not" Tony quickly pulled out something from his pocket. It looked to be a piece of glass, but then a quick swipe of the man of iron's fingers and suddenly blue holographic images sprang to life over the surface of it.

"Jarvis," Tony spoke aloud to the corridor at large "if you wouldn't mind scanning all security footage from the past five minutes pertaining to Olivia Summers. She's a teenager, curly blonde hair, blue eyes, wearing a pink dress."

"Scanning all security footage. Miss Summers appears to be still in the building but has ascended to the upper floors via the lift to your right. It appears to have stalled between floors ten and eleven" The computerized voice of JARVIS spoke politely from the ceiling.

"The stalled?" Stephen frowned as did Tony who was looking at the tiny screen in front of him.

"Alright…uh Jarvis can you pull up the security feed from just before she got in the lift."

Both Stephen and Tony stared at the tiny screen as an image flickered to life.

There was Via standing in the corridor, in the exact same spot as they were currently in, alongside someone else. Someone else with a dark bald head, wearing a black trench coat and a black eyepatch over his left eye.

"Oh crap" Tony gulped.

 _Of all the people that had to interfere right now…it just had to be you didn't it?_

* * *

 _When I first met Nick Fury, I was wary of him. It's understandable really. The guy is after all a master spy no wait scratch that he was THE master spy._

 _Head of SHIELD, creator of the Avengers initiative._

 _Why he wanted to talk to me that night I don't know, all I do know is that after I talked with him my life was never the same again._

* * *

"Stupid old bitch" Via sniffed, as she tried and failed to hold back tears.

She was far down the long corridor now and had long since passed the door to the bathroom.

But she didn't care. All she wanted now was space to clear her head in peace where she wouldn't be at risk of lashing out at someone else.

She couldn't help it. Firstly she'd made an ass of herself upon her arrival, then she'd argued with Mordo, causing him to leave, then that scary man that had stalked her two days ago had just reappeared and now she'd just thrown cake into the face of one of Tony Stark's guests.

 _Stephen would be so pissed at me when he hears what I did. He was so looking forward to tonight and I positively blew it for him. All because I let that old cow get under my skin._

She stopped as she heard a pair of footsteps behind her.

Via fingered Asmund and Brynja on her wrist. Whoever this was, if they wanted to attack her they'd have to be prepared for a fight.

 _No. don't jump to conclusions. Wait and listen, it might just be someone normal._

She sucked in a deep breath as she continued listening to the person's footsteps.

They were heavy (a mans she was guessing), made by booted feet, and they weren't walking but stalking carefully. She knew that stalk…it was the kind Mordo often used whenever he sparred. But unlike her ex teacher, this person's footsteps were far heavier. Whoever he was, he obviously wanted her to hear him approach.

 _No chance of a sneak attack then._

She thought just as a voice spoke behind her.

"Olivia Summers?"

Via turned to face him, jaw set as she prepared herself for the worst, only to find herself face to face with a dark bald man wearing all black and sporting a black eyepatch over his scarred left eye.

"Who's asking?" she clipped as she quietly assessed him.

The man wasn't acting aggressive, but something in his stance told her that could all change in a heartbeat if she proved too hostile.

But for now the man contented himself with merely eyeing her up and down as he quietly answered.

"My name is Nick Fury. I was a friend of your mother's, Freyja Sorenson"

"I've met a lot of my mother's _friends._ They never once mentioned you." Via narrowed her eyes at him, carefully fingering her bracelet beneath the folds of her dress.

"Not many of them would" the man, Fury agreed solemnly "I wager most of these people would've attacked you the minute they laid eyes on you. But I'm not one of them"

"Then what are you?" Via gulped.

"Like I said. I was a friend. An ally as it were" Fury explained, his one good eye quickly flickering to her wrist "Your mother and I worked together back when she was alive. She helped me and my organization find a great many artefacts and defend the world from dangerous threats"

"Right…and your organization was?"

"SHIELD"

Via stared at the man, then snorted.

"You honestly expect me to believe that?"

Fury raised his eyebrows at her.

"I already know about your birth mother. And I know about you. Olivia Freyja Summers, Born 31st April 2000. You grew up in Hope Haven Orphanage in the Bronx. You suffered abuse at the hands of its caretakers Millicent and William Hope. You've had two offers of adoption, one in 2009 and the second in 2012 but both fell through at the last minute. You ran away a few weeks after the Battle for New York and lived on the streets, mainly travelling between the Bronx and Queens but occasionally travelling to Manhattan and New Jersey. Come the beginning of this year you disappeared right after a woman named Fala Begay was murdered by an unknown assailant, only to reappear months later in the care of the recluse Doctor Stephen Strange."

"Wow…nice to know my whole life story can be summed up in one short blurb" Via snorted, but she did not relax one bit.

Fury noticed this but far from being insulted, he looked quite amused.

"You still don't trust me?"

"If I trusted everyone so easily Mister Fury I'd be dead by now"

"I see" Fury muttered quietly.

"I should've guessed this would happen" he murmured to himself when she refused to answer. "When the Ancient One said you were quite sceptical, I thought she was kidding"

Via almost felt her heart stop.

"You…knew the Ancient One?"

"She was an old friend." Fury explained, carefully eyeing her face "Her and her best sorcerers often helped my agents and I with our more…unusual missions. Your mother was one of those select few. And if I'm not mistaken that dress you wear was one of hers"

"How on earth do you know that?" Via looked down on herself.

"Because she wore it once on an undercover mission in Paris. She was helping us exorcise an interdimensional demon from one of our enemy's agents before they could use it to launch a terror attack on the city."

If Via wasn't a sorcerer she might have been rolling on the floor laughing by now. But she didn't. Instead she lowered her guard just a fraction, her ears pricking as she heard the distant sounds of footsteps echoing down the corridor.

Fury heard them too and quickly pressed for the lift.

"Perhaps we could finish this discussion in a more private setting"

"I still don't trust you" Via said with narrowed eyes.

"then don't trust me. Just listen. If you decide not to trust me after that I'll bring you back to the party safe and sound. You have my word"

Via wanted to roll her eyes and tell him that she didn't even trust his word, but there was something serious in the look he gave her with his one eye that made her pause.

 _Maybe…just maybe, he might be trustworthy._

"God I hope you're not a crazy serial killer" she growled as with a scowl she stepped into the lift, Fury following her quietly.

He stiffened as he saw her reach for the emergency stop button as they passed by floor ten.

Quickly the lift slid to a smooth stop and she stepped back, folded her arms and leaned back against the wall glowering.

"Okay. This is as private as its gonna get. So if you want to talk then talk. Or else I'm sending this lift back down and I'm out."

Despite himself, Fury couldn't help the small smirk that played on his lips.

The kid had guts, he'd give her that.

"Like I said before Summers, your mother was a good friend of mine. She aided SHIELD and acted as a liaison between us and the Masters of the mystic arts. To the world she was merely a consultant in archaeology and antiquities, but in truth she was a Relic Hunter"

"Relic Hunter?" Via asked her curiosity getting the better of her. "You mean she tracked down-"

"Mystical Relics, yes" Fury nodded patiently "And sometimes the rogue sorcerers that tried to steal them."

"Like Fabian Russo?" Via cut across him.

Fury stared at her, his eye narrowing.

"You know of Russo?" he muttered, voice dark but Via could hear a slight bit of worry in his voice.

"Yes. I know him." She nodded, her heart hammering as she sucked in a deep breath and said "He's dead"

"Yes he is" Fury stated grimly "Fabian Russo has been dead for nearly fifteen years-"

"No. He's only been dead for nearly two weeks." Via's gaze hardened as she forced the words out of her throat.

"And you figure this how?" Fury scowled.

"Because…" Via gulped a lump forming in her throat as she turned her face towards the ground. "…I killed him"

"You what?"

"I killed him." She turned and looked him dead in the eye "he was trying to strangle me to death. So I stabbed him. He died shortly after."

"So…it was in self-defence?"

"Self-defence or not I still killed him."

There was a silence as Nick Fury stared down at the girl before him.

Her face didn't even betray the slightest bit of emotion at the confession. It seemed to him that she barely felt a thing. But then he caught sight of her blue eyes and saw a brief spark of pain and guilt flicker ever so slightly over her eyes.

No…this kid wasn't lying. But she wasn't a remorseless killer either.

That didn't make him feel any better. It was SHIELD's job, HIS job to make sure things like this never happened. He and his agents might have done questionable things but it was always with the end goal of ensuring that the rest of humanity would not have to sink to such a level.

The fact that there were still kids like her who'd have to kill to defend themselves for their lives was enough to make his blood boil. After all his hard work, one would think the world was a better place…but it wasn't.

"Does your new guardian know?" he asked quietly and Via nodded.

"Yeah. He and the rest of the order know."

 _And Cassian._

She thought sadly. Cassian…the first boy she'd ever had feelings for. She'd killed his father and now they both were gone from her life.

 _No. stop don't think about that!_

Via quickly wiped at the corner of her eye, sucking in a breath as she steadied herself back to stoicism.

"If you're in contact with the rest of the Order then you'll have heard about the Ancient One?" She asked quietly.

"Yes. My condolences to you and your fellow masters" Fury coughed. "I may not have always seen eye to eye with her but the Ancient One was a very strong ally. Her death has proven a great blow. One can only hope Doctor Strange will prove himself a worthy successor. But only time will tell"

"He will do well" Via said firmly "he's not ready now. But he will be soon."

"Considering you've only known him a few months you sure have a lot of faith in his abilities" Fury raised his eyebrows.

"Someone has to. It might as well be me. And think about it this way, at least he's not Tony Stark. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm sure Mister Stark is a great hero, but I'm not too keen on letting someone like him close to the mystic arts"

"Neither am I. And yet it is about that very issue that I want to discuss with you"

"Alright then discuss away" Via rolled her eyes as she slumped back into the wall as Fury asked:

"Summers, why do you think Tony Stark invited both you and your guardian here tonight?"

"Because he heard Stephen was in town from Captain Rogers, after that night he found me in Central Park, and he was curious to see what the fuss was about?"

"That is one reason." Fury nodded "the other is that at the end of tonight he wants to offer you a job"

"A job?" Via frowned. "Doing what? Stephen already has a job defending the Sanctums"

"I wasn't talking about Doctor Strange."

Via stared at Fury in astonishment.

"Me? Tony Stark wants to hire me? Why?"

"Because he believes its _fate_ " Fury sighed as if resigned to something completely ridiculous. "He believes that _you_ are the missing piece to a puzzle he and his team have been trying to solve for two years. Ever since the battle of New York the Avengers and SHIELD have done what they can to track down all alien technology the Chitauri used in their invasion. However, there is one thing they have yet to find, a sceptre that belonged to Thor's brother Loki, the Asgardian who led the invasion."

"Right and what do I have to do with this sceptre?" Via folded her arms.

"Like I said before, your mother was a Relic Hunter. As were her parents and grandparents. Even before SHIELD was formed your family hunted relics and rogue mystical practitioners"

"And they think that just because the rest of my dead family hunted relics, that I was just gonna drop everything in my life and help them, when there are probably many other master sorcerers out there that would probably be better for the job?"

"Yes…they are" Fury shrugged as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"And let me guess…you came here stop me taking the job" she snorted.

"Yes…and no."

"What?" Via blinked utterly bewildered.

"While there are many sorcerers we could undoubtedly call upon, there is a certain level of trust and surety when it comes the Sorenson name. Had I still been director of SHIELD, I might have recruited you earlier, but circumstances being what they are…that is no longer an option. All past events aside I must warn you. Should you agree to Stark's offer, there will be no going back. The minute you sign that contract is the minute you agree to spending the rest of your life hunted down and fighting to survive as you search for the truth."

"And if I don't sign the contract?"

"Honestly, I do not know" Fury admitted quietly "you could spend most of your life in peace with the other sorcerers, but chances are that won't last either once you start furthering your training. Being an apprentice to the new Sorcerer Supreme will most likely put another target on your back."

 _As if I didn't have one on it already_

Via rolled her eyes to herself in exasperation. God why did her life have to be so complicated?

As if guessing her thoughts, Fury sighed.

"Listen, kid. I can sit here all day, gassing on about all this fate and possible future crap till the cows come home, but ultimately, it's not my decision. It's yours, and I suggest you take a good long think about what you want out of your life, because chances you won't have another opportunity to have the time to stop and think like this again."

And with that he reached out and quickly flicked the emergency elevator button. At once the lift sprang to life, quickly zooming back down.

Neither of them spoke as it slowed down to a stop on the first floor, where it opened to reveal the rather relieved face of Tony Stark and the rather furious one of Doctor Stephen Strange.

As soon as the doors were opened he all but grabbed her and dragged her away from Fury positively hissing with worry.

"Are you alright? What happened? Did he do anything to you?" he whispered furiously as he checked her over.

"I'm fine Stephen" Via waved him off. "Nothing happened. We were just talking"

"Right…just talking" Tony eyed Fury cagily as the ex-director rolled his eye.

"Just giving the kid some advice, Stark. Doctor Strange, I'm surprised to see you out and about." He glanced at Stephen who was glaring at him angrily.

"As is half the population" he turned back to Via "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, i'm sure" Via rolled her eyes before turning back to Fury.

"Next time you want to talk, just call. We do have a landline"

"Oh. I know. But this is more fun." Fury smirked as he quietly stepped back into the lift and pressed the button. Within seconds the door was closed and he was gone.

"Weird guy" Via spoke into the silence.

"Kid…you have no idea" Tony sighed. Now he really did feel old.

* * *

 _IT wasn't long after that that Stephen and I left the party. Once he'd heard that I'd fallen over and gotten a concussion he declared that I should go home to the Sanctum at once and get some sleep._

 _Too bad Fate had other plans._

* * *

"So…you talked with this, _Nick Fury._ And he told you that Stark was planning to hire you to help the avengers find relics?" Stephen stared at Via as she sat on the other side of his desk.

They were in his office, along with Wong, who had stayed up waiting for their return. He had been most amused by the story of how Via had insulted Tony Stark, and of how she had smashed a cake into Sophie Caster's face.

Whilst the librarian wasn't too pleased that she'd lost her composure, he was willing to overlook her behaviour seeing as she was retaliating to a rather distasteful woman. When it came down to her talk with Nick Fury however, he wasn't quite as understanding.

"Did you tell him that you were only an acolyte"

"Yes. Well I said that I was a kid and there probably was another master out there better suited for the job" Via shrugged.

"But Tony Stark didn't ask you outright?" Wong frowned.

"No. I think he wanted to, hence the invitation. But no, we left before he got the chance."

"If you're going to make a life changing decision, I'd rather you do it when you've not got a head injury that could impair your decision-making skills" Stephen clipped waspishly as he checked the clock on his desk. It was almost twelve at night. He was usually used to staying up this late, but after that party…

Via however, was looking at him head on her gaze determined as she said.

"I'm going to do it"

"You _what_?" Wong's nostrils flared.

"I'm going to help them find the sceptre. If Stark still wants to ask me." She added, doing her best not to look down into her hands as Wong swelled like a bullfrog.

"You're only an acolyte. You don't even know the litany of spells needed for such a task. Not to mention very few of our order ever make it to become a hunter-"

"Maybe it's in my blood?" Via shrugged "I mean my mother was one. My grandparents apparently were too-"

"But you aren't!" Wong insisted "And just because they're one thing, doesn't mean you have to be that thing yourself. You're your own person, you're free to make your own decisions-"

"Exactly. This is _my_ decision Wong." Via snapped fiercely "I _want_ to do this. If I can, maybe I can find out the truth about what really happened with my mother"

"You're too young-"

"She's MY mother-"

"Enough! Both of you!" Stephen barked, rubbing his forehead. If ever he needed a stiff drink it would be now.

The cloak of Levitation bristled around his shoulders, squeezing him comfortingly as he groaned with tiredness.

"Olivia…I understand where you're coming from. I honestly do" he looked up at Via, his gaze tired but sympathetic "You're angry and confused over what happened with Russo and you want answers. But Wong is right. This is a huge job, even for a fully trained sorcerer. Also…When I made the application to adopt you, I made the promise that I would keep you from harm, not just to the law, but to you as well. And I'm sorry but I can't protect you if you suddenly decide to put yourself in danger like this."

"But Stephen" Via groaned "I've been protecting myself for nearly all my life. And if you think that I'm suddenly going to back down just because you say so then you've got another thing coming. She's my mom, I've got every right to search for the truth about her however I want, and I'm not going to sit around and wait for someone else to dig up the truth-or worse have it end up like it did with Russo-"

"I know" Stephen sighed "Which is why…which is why I will allow you to go through with this AS LONG-" he steamrolled over Wong's splutters of indignation "As long as you follow certain conditions that I set."

"Right…and your conditions are?" Via scowled, though her insides were dancing the conga line of victory.

"I don't know. I need to sleep on it" Stephen muttered. "And on that note, have a bath and get to bed. Your home-schooling starts tomorrow. And I need you up fresh and early."

"Right. Got it. Goodnight Doc…Wong" She added, somewhat reluctantly as Wong grit out through his teeth.

"Goodnight Olivia"

As soon as the door was shut behind her, he rounded on Stephen.

"You can't honestly be considering this?"

"The way I see it Wong, she'll go for it whether we say yay or nay." Stephen grunted as he leaned back in his chair. "at least this way we can keep an eye on her and help her if she has a problem."

"But these are the Avengers. I don't know whether you've noticed it or not but they don't exactly have a track record for being the safest people on the planet. If anything they're some of the first people to run headlong into the action."

"Maybe, but if they follow the conditions I set I might just be able to keep her from too much damage. And if they don't follow my rules then she won't work with them. It's a compromise she can live with."

"I don't know…I still don't like the idea…" Wong folded his arms. "She's just…so young…"

"Olivia may be young Wong…but she's been through more horrible things than most adults twice her age" Stephen murmured "If she can deal with Fabian Russo then she can deal with the Avengers. Plus, I don't think they'd let her come to harm. Most of them may be buffoons but they don't strike me as the type who would willingly put a child into danger"

"No I suppose not." Wong agreed begrudgingly as he stifled a yawn.

"Alright. I'm headed off to bed. I suggest you also get your sleep"

"I will" Stephen waved him off "But first I'm going to sort out these new lesson plans. If Olivia is to be proper member of society, I'm going to have to give her the best education and that means I'll have to teach her enough to get her into a good school. No ward of mine is going to go to some half-baked public school with a low Academic standing." He scoffed haughtily.

 _For a man who claims to hate children…you really are enjoying being a parent_

Wong rolled his eyes one more time as he quietly left the doctor alone in his study.

 _Oh Ancient One…whatever am I going to do with these two._

* * *

Via stared up at the ceiling of her four-poster bed.

Her room was dark, she'd long since turned off all the lights. But for some reason she could not sleep.

Her mind was all abuzz with what had happened that night.

"I should've told him" She muttered to herself in the dark. "I should've told him about that guy."

That horrible guy with the pale blonde hair and that pointed face.

She wasn't sure why she didn't tell Stephen about him. Heck she didn't even tell Fury about him and he was the only one in that building who might have known something about him.

"Elias…who's Elias?" she mumbled.

Of course no one answered. And yet the name felt…familiar…like a half-forgotten friend from long ago. Was he her birth father? Or was he just another enemy that wanted to kill her?

Her mother seemed to have so many enemies at every twist and turn. First Russo, then the strange pale man…and then Elias?

 _Maybe Wong was right_

She thought grimly.

 _Maybe it is too dangerous for me to look for my mother's secrets_

But look what had happened when she didn't look for the truth, she thought bitterly, her heart clenching as she turned onto her side.

The last time she'd been complacent about finding out about her parentage, the son of her mother's enemy had nearly managed to seduce her, and turn her against everyone. All because she didn't know what dangers lay in wait.

And because of that ignorance she'd killed a man and lost two people most precious to her.

 _Mordo…what on earth happened to you?_

She wondered, her eyes burning with tears as she remembered the disgusted look in her old master's eyes.

She just couldn't believe it. The man who had been so passionate about protecting and embracing life. How could he turn so cold?

Now that Via thought about it she hadn't told Stephen about seeing him either. But no…how could she? If she did she'd just cause Stephen more pain. He was just as worried about Mordo as she was, and she knew that if he knew about what had happened he would go after him and try to persuade him to return. And given what Via had seen of Mordo tonight, such a thing wouldn't go down well at all.

 _He just needs time._

She told herself as she tried to shut her eyes.

 _We all just need a little time to settle down and then we can all talk and sort this out. He'll come back eventually, I know it._

And with that she shut her eyes, her last thoughts of her old master and his cold dark eyes.

* * *

Baron Karl Mordo of Sokovia stepped through the Sling Ring portal he had summoned. It was still day in his homeland and so sunlight was streaming in through an open window high above.

The room he was standing in was an old stone one, one of the oldest rooms of his home castle. It was round and circular, with several racks placed around the walls, all of them bearing some manner of old weapon.

It was with a sharp halberd that his apprentice was practicing with in the center of the room.

He was a handsome boy. Tall, with dark locks, a fine-featured face and warm honey like eyes that would melt anyone who fell under their spell. His body was remarkably well built for a fifteen-year-old, the result of years of training and discipline, openly displayed on his bare sweaty chest.

"I see you're training hard Cassian" Mordo smirked, amused when the young man literally jumped in surprise, almost dropping his weapon.

"Master!" Cassian bleated spinning around to bow respectfully to him "I-I didn't hear you come in!"

"The mark of a good sorcerer is not how powerful his spell is, but at how he uses them to their best advantage. Especially when it comes to maintain the element of surprise" Mordo put a peaceful hand up and his apprentice quickly rose, brow furrowed slightly.

"Is something wrong master? Did the party go badly?"

"On the contrary Cassian, the party was a success. I was able to find a few benefactors willing to help our cause." Mordo grunted as with a short swift spell, his tux was morphed into his green fighting gear.

"But?" Cassian prompted.

Mordo sighed heavily. Eyeing the young man. Should he tell him? Would it be too soon? The last thing he needed was his Apprentice losing focus.

But then again…it could potentially put a spanner in the works later if he did not say anything and he supposed they needed to start talking about this sometime.

"Olivia was there, along with Strange"

"Oh?" though he tried to sound airy and casual, Cassian's lip curled dangerously. "they were? How come?"

"Tony Stark invited them apparently" Mordo watched his apprentice warily, "I spoke with Olivia…She seems to be doing alright"

"Oh does she now?" now Cassian didn't even bother to hide his scorn. "Funny, isn't it. That the murderer of my father is allowed to roam free while I am stuck in this castle"

"I have said before Cassian, you are only as much a prisoner here as you want yourself to be. If you would like you are free to walk outside whenever you want-"

"Only I can't because Percival still has his Relic Hunters patrolling every inch of the town and you're the only one with a sling ring!" Cassian snapped.

Mordo sighed again as he strode forward and put a comforting hand on the youth's shoulder.

"I understand it's frustrating Cassian. You've been put in a difficult position by fate and you don't know what to do. But don't worry, soon we'll be moving on from this castle."

"We will?" Cassian spluttered "When? Where will we go?"

"That all remains to be seen." Mordo steamrolled over him gently "If our new friends decide to take action soon we might be heading out within the week. But don't get your hopes up, Businessmen are notorious for taking their own sweet time over their decisions"

"Where as if we just threatened them they might get things done faster-"

"And risk them defecting out of fear to our enemies? I think not." Mordo snapped, Cassian shutting up like a clam "If we really want to set about cleansing the world Cassian, we need to do it carefully. No one likes to feel they're being forced to do something. Once that happens they almost always rebel. No, if we want our plan to work we need to build up strong alliances, contacts, people who trust us implicitly and without question. People who see us as their hope. It is only then will we have the freedom to exact whatever measures we need to take."

"I understand sir" Cassian nodded to his toes. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I was just…thinking…my father he-"

"You miss him." Mordo finished gently, his hand now placing itself on the boy's head. "I understand"

"If you understand…then why do you still care about _her_ " Cassian murmured, his voice broken.

"For the same reason you do-" Mordo began but his apprentice just shook his head.

"NO! No I don't care for her. Not anymore. She killed my father. She could've spared him, but she didn't and then she has the gall to say it was my fault. No. I hate her. I HATE her Master, and when we start cleansing the world of these Sorcerers I'm going to start with HER!"

"Cassian" Mordo barked, but Cassian was shaking his head and depositing his weapon back onto the wall.

"I'm sorry master, but I need to take a shower…clear my head"

"Cassian!"

But the door had already slammed in his face.

* * *

Cornelius Craven stared at the scene before him. He'd only just come back from that damned party.

It had been barely two minutes since he stepped out of his black armoured car.

He'd hooked the damned girl in like planned, now he just had to wait for her to reel herself in on his line. Things had been going so well.

And now he had to deal with all _this!_

There were bodies lying all around him, many of them bleeding as gunshot wounds oozed from various points in their bodies.

Some of them had twisted limbs from where they had been broken or dislocated, giving them the look of very broken ragdolls.

But the worst sight of all, was the open door at the end of the dark derelict corridor.

It was ajar, and in it was nothing but a single chair and some broken pieces of rope.

He quickly grabbed his phone from his pocket and pressed the speed dial.

"Sergei!" he hissed, his british accent somehow rougher in his anger "Brother. Contact Baron Von Strucker. Operation Fishbait is compromised. I repeat compromised. Why? Because the bastard escaped. Calling in a code red alert to all agents in New York. Yes. Yes I know. Yes I'll come in as soon as possible. Yes…goodbye brother. SHIT!" he swore loudly as he shut the phone off and glared at the empty chair.

 _Elias Summers when I get my hands on you I'm going to KILL YOU!_

* * *

Elias Summers stared around at the city around him. He could not believe he was actually here in New York City 2014…

 _Has it really been that long?_

He wondered as he hunched over behind a dustbin. He could only hope this hobo disguise would work, after all he'd only just put it together at the last minute.

 _If I can just sit it out like this for a couple of weeks and create a false trail that leads out of the city, then I might have a chance to find her without causing suspicion._

"Don't worry Freyja I'm on my way. I'll protect her with my life I promise." He muttered, his deep southern accent cutting through the air as he turned his his scruffy salt and pepper beard up to the New York skyline just as the first light of dawn began to rise.

A new day…a new beginning…

And a new world

* * *

 **HELLO GUYS! so yeah this was a very quick chapter upload. In actual fact when i posted up chapter 2 it was going to include more than half of this chapter. then i saw that it went over 10,000 words and i knew i had to cut it into two, otherwise you'd all be left reading for probably a few hours straight. (also 10,500 is about my word limit for a chapter)**

 **So anyways Via meets the other Avengers, tells off a bitchy witch (we'll get to more of that later on) and meets Nick Fury and we finally discover a bit more about her past. And we also get to see more of Cornelius Craven. and who's his brother Sergei? i'll give you a hint, it has something to do with the Spider-man comics (if you've read them then you'll probably already guessed who he really is ;) )**

 **anyways hope you guys enjoyed and keep reviewing with feedback for what else you'd like to see later on.**

 **Cheers and happy reading**

 **FuzzyBeta**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: A Super Orientation**

 _Hey guys me again. Sorry I had to pause the V-log. Stephen needed some help pushing a box demon back into another dimension._

 _Well I call it a box demon only because we found it accidentally in this really old box up in the attic above the Sanctum Chamber of Relics. It wasn't really the shape and size of a box. If anything, it looked more like a purplish-black octopus-like thing with hundreds of tentacles and one large eyeball._

 _Yeah…my life is so weird._

 _So, where was I? Oh yeah, we came back from Tony's party and I had just woken up the next morning. Bright and fresh and ready to start home-schooling._

 _It wasn't so bad. As it was the beginning of my studies, Stephen decided to test me on everything I had learned so far and we quickly started making lists on topics that I needed work on. Surprisingly enough, I wasn't as far behind as I thought in some subjects._

 _Thanks to my extensive personal readings and learnings at Kamar-Taj I was quite up to date with English and History. Maths too I was doing alright at, I just needed to learn a couple more grades worth of work to get up to the same level as other kids my age. Science…well…science was a little tricky._

 _After learning how to bend the laws of nature with Magic, I kinda let myself go with science. After all what do magic and science have to do with one another right?_

 _A lot apparently. Even Stephen admitted that had he not had such a strong scientific background he would've struggled to understand the more advanced levels of sorcery._

 _And so, it was during this rigorous testing of my scientific "prowess" that the dreaded visit that changed my entire life suddenly interrupted._

* * *

"What do the abbreviations TC and TD stand for that are seen on some laboratory pipettes?"

"To contain and to deliver"

"Correct. Now, what Greek letter is used to symbolize wavelength?"

"uh…Lambda?"

"Is that another question or your final answer?"

"Final answer"

"Good because it's correct. Now next question, it's a long one. For a perfectly spherical planet of uniform density, the gravitational acceleration at a point half way to the surface from its center will be what fraction of the gravitational acceleration at the surface?"

"Uh…?"

"Do you want time to write it out?"

"Uh…no I should be good…um…a third."

"Wrong. The answer was in the question, it's a half. Now quickly make note in your book to cover planetary science"

"Ugh! Fine."

"Write it down!"

"Okay, chill it's going down in the book! There. Now next question?"

"Right, now let's see…we haven't done some chemistry yet have we? Aha! Here's a good place to start. What is the name, Atomic number and category of the element with the symbol Pb?"

"Pb is lead, which has the atomic number of eighty – no wait – eighty-two and it is a post-transition metal"

"Very good. Now can you list some of the properties of post-transition metals?"

"Uh…they're more brittle than transition metals."

"good anything else?"

"lower…melting points?"

"Correct but still add periodic table to your list. Now I want you to give me the name, atomic number and atomic symbol of another post-transition metal"

"Just one?"

"Just one"

"Uh…okay…let's see…oh yeah there's Tin. It has the atomic number fifty, and the atomic symbol of Sn."

"correct and what does Sn stand for?"

"uh…Sn…uh…just give me a sec. Sn? Sn… starts with St-"

"It's Stannum. From the Latin word for Tin."

There was a pause as Via and Stephen both turned from their positions on either side of the large wooden desk. There standing in the doorway of Stephen's private study, was Tony Stark himself.

Unlike the previous night, he was wearing a very casual pair of jeans, sneakers and a black sabbath T-shirt and a red hooded jumper.

He grinned at the sight of the sorcerer and his apprentice, sitting in their kamar-taj clothes, Via in all black with her long blue tailcoat over the top, Stephen in his blue ensemble with the crimson cloak of levitation draped over his shoulders.

"So, _this_ is what the new and improved _Doctor Strange_ looks like in his _magical_ new day job. I must say the beard is one thing but I'm _loving_ the cape. Vintage?"

"Stark what a pleasant surprise. We didn't hear you come in." Stephen bit out sarcastically as he forced a polite smile onto his face, his light eyes cold.

"Yeah your pal Wong let me through the front door."

"More like he barged in." Wong grunted as he appeared behind Tony's back arms folded and scowling as Tony swaggered inside the room, admiring the antique furniture and the ornate design.

"So…this is what this building looks like on the inside. I've always wondered…much older than I expected-"

"I could say the same of you _Mister Stark._ " Via smiled oh-so-sweetly as Tony's smile fell from his face. Behind his back Stephen and Wong both exchanged an amused smirk. Oh, how they loved watching when she sassed people other than them.

"You're never gonna let that one down, are you?" Tony sighed and Via shook her head with a smile.

"Nope. Not a chance."

"Well I guess I can let it slide, seeing as I only have an hour or so before I'm needed back at the tower"

"Then the sooner we start the better, please, take a seat." Stephen's smug grin widened as he conjured up a chair from thin air, enjoying the sight of the now rather bewildered avenger before him.

"Holy crap, that one-eyed bastard was right" Tony muttered as he reached out for the chair. Upon finding it to be solid he gingerly sat in it, startled as his behind sank comfortably into its cushioned seat, without even the slightest hint of strain on the legs.

"huh…not bad" he admitted quietly, only for his amazement to falter at the smug smirk of Stephen Strange as he took the big ornate chair on the other side of the desk.

He struck a rather impressive figure as he leaned languidly back, the red and gold of his cape standing out starkly against the black cushioned back of his seat.

 _He may not have the training, but god he does look the part of Sorcerer Supreme._

Via huffed under her breath as she tucked her feet up on her chair, only to bring them down as Wong sent her a disapproving shake of the head.

"Fine" She crossed her legs and placed her hands on her knees in an overly lady-like pose, rolling her eyes. "Better?"

"Much." Wong muttered.

"Now, _Mister Stark_." Stephen ignored his friend and ward as he turned towards the man of Iron, his light eyes piercing and steady. "How may we help you today?"

Tony straightened himself up in his chair and for the first time since Via had met him he looked a serious businessman, even in his daggy clothes.

"Well actually Doc, it's more a case of how can your _kid_ over here can help me"

Of course, Via, Stephen and Wong had already heard of this proposal last night from Nick Fury, but even as it came out of the billionaire's mouth all three of them stiffened uncomfortably in their spots.

 _This is it, moment of truth._

Via bit her lip as she turned to Tony, doing her best to keep her face politely surprised.

"My help mister Stark?"

Tony opened his mouth, but then quickly shut it and stared at her, eyeing her expression shrewdly.

"You already know what I'm talking about. Don't you?"

"uh…yep" Via nodded, all pretences dropping.

"Let me guess, a crystal ball? Tarot Cards?" he rolled his eyes sardonically, much to Wong's disdain.

"More like a certain friend of yours. Nick Fury" Stephen explained leaning forwards. "He said you and your team were having trouble tracking down a sceptre?"

"Yes. Loki's Sceptre" Tony sagged in his seat with defeat.

"Loki? As in the brother of Thor? The Norse trickster god?" Wong's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, him. He was using a sceptre during his attack on New York. He was disarmed during the fight but then we lost it. When we discovered that the retrieval crews hadn't picked it up, we started searching for it. But whoever has it now, has been hiding it pretty well because for two years there's been no sign of it."

"So, the Avengers can't find it?" Stephen scoffed, but Via could see the concern in his eyes. Whatever this sceptre was, it must've been pretty powerful, especially if it had been deemed a worthy weapon for an Asgardian. If that thing had fallen into the wrong hands…

"So, what exactly does this have to do with me?" Via frowned, crossing her arms "I mean, I get it. This sceptre is a big deal and obviously it's too risky to leave in the hands of someone dangerous. But I'm just an acolyte. If you really wanted help you could've asked Stephen or Wong or any of the other masters of the mystic arts. So why come for _my_ help in particular?"

"Three reasons. Firstly, because the rest of the team have already met you and they like you, and believe me they're difficult people to impress." Tony admitted, his smirk softening ever so slightly "Secondly, you're the daughter of Freyja Sorenson, who was a close ally of SHIELD. Fury said that out of all the sorcerers SHIELD has worked with the Sorenson family has always proven to be the most reliable in a pinch. And thirdly…having you help us just feels right"

"It just feels, right?" Wong stared at Tony incredulously. "You're hiring a teenage acolyte of the mystic arts, because she feel's _just right_ for your team?"

"Pretty much yeah." Tony shrugged, as if his answer was the most obvious thing in the world "Though I find it odd that a guy like you seem to not have as much faith in the, what was it Fury called it, the Sorenson line?"

"It's not because I lack faith in Olivia. Quite the opposite in fact." Wong clipped chest swelling with pride "Even without the Sorenson name behind her she is proving a worthy student of the mystic arts. She has faced powerful sorcerers and much danger already within the past few months, and I'm sure she will continue to thrive and flourish. But she is still young and still has much to learn, before she will reach her full potential."

"Y'know if you're trying to dissuade me from the idea you're not doing a very good job" Tony smirked, "I don't know about you guys but I've personally found that a lot of the best decisions I've ever made in my life I've always made based on my gut. Does my gut always make sense? No. But it's still made more good decisions in my life than overthinking ever did. And right now, my gut is telling me that this kid is what my team needs, and that she's got pieces to the puzzle."

Stephen wanted to roll his eyes and scoff, but found himself unable. Like it or not, he often thought the same way the man of Iron did. Every good decision he'd made had been made on impulse and instinct, which while not always so straightforward almost always taught him something new in the grand scheme of things.

In fact, it was this very side of him that was currently battling it out with the new overprotective guardian that he had so recently developed.

 _You should let her join them…she could learn a lot from doing something in the field. Also…he may sound bonkers but what he says…does sort of make sense._

 _But she's just a child. You can't just let her dash into danger again. Not after all the horrors she's been through. And there's still that man from the street and that boy Cassian out for her blood-_

"Olivia, could I have a private word." Stephen looked pointedly at Via who nodded at once. Wong quickly made to follow them but was stopped as the doctor held up a hand.

"Sorry Wong, but could you please keep an eye on our guest. I've got a couple of spellbooks on the desk, so make sure he touches nothing." He added in a soft hiss so that only the librarian could hear.

Wong nodded, and quickly Via and Stephen shut the office door behind them.

"So? Are you still up to it?" Stephen asked her quietly.

"I think so." Via looked uncertainly at the door "But, I've been giving it a lot of thought last night and…and Wong's right. It's not going to be safe working with them."

"Well, that's a given" Stephen tried smirking, putting a hand on her shoulder as she ran a hand through her curly ponytail. "Though I doubt they'd want to put you in danger"

"It's not the danger I'm worried about" Via shook her head. "I mean yeah sure I'm worried about it. But danger I can live with, I have lived with it all my life it's just. They're the Avengers, Earth's greatest heroes… _._ If it were you that was going up there to join them it would be different, you're the next Sorcerer Supreme. But I'm just…well… _me_ …"

"Just _you_? Olivia, you're the _apprentice_ of the new Sorcerer Supreme, you're the last heir of the Sorenson bloodline, AND you are the Spider Sorceress thanks to the Web of Asibikaashi"- he added, eyeing the glimmering golden dreamcatcher that hung from around her neck. - "You're barely fourteen and you've got more titles to your name than any of those _heroes_ did when they were teenagers…except probably Thor…"

"Titles-shmitles!" Via rolled her eyes "That still doesn't change the fact that it's _me_ we're talking. You and Wong say that I've earned being here, but half the time I was just winging it…relying on luck to get me out of trouble…"

"I'm sensing a big but here." Stephen folded his arms.

"But…I really want to know more about my mom." Via looked up at him in earnest "And maybe if I find out more I can find out about any other threats and find ways to get past them or-or-prepare myself so that when they do come we'll be ready next time."

"Alright" Stephen nodded but Via wasn't listening as she continued to prattle on nervously.

"But yeah, okay I'll agree to drop it if Stark doesn't agree to whatever conditions you apply. I get that you want to keep me safe and I know you're only doing that because you care so…if he doesn't comply with your constrictions, then no. I won't go through with it-"

"Olivia" Stephen put a hand on her shoulder to silence her "Take a deep breath"

Via sucked in a deep breath, and exhaled heavily.

"Better?" Stephen smirked.

"Better." She nodded.

"Right, then let's go in. It's time to discuss the terms of your contact."

"Right" Via nodded though she still felt dragons raging in her gut as Stephen opened the door to the study.

It didn't help that the two very real dragon guardians in her bracelet had started glowing ever so slightly in readiness.

But she needn't have worried too much. Tony Stark was still sitting in his chair, shifting uncomfortably under the scrutinizing gaze of Wong.

 _Rather you than me buddy_

The corners of Via's mouth twitched upwards as Stephen coughed to announce their re-entrance, making the billionaire hero all but jump startled to his feet.

"Olivia have talked over this decision carefully Stark. And we've both agreed that she will join you…as long as you and your teammates follow a set of conditions I lay out for you."

"And these conditions would be?" Tony quirked a brow, his discomfort quickly changing to a surprisingly shrewd professional stance.

 _I suppose he is a business man, hero or not_

Via supposed, glancing at Stephen's face as he clipped:

"Firstly, since the true nature of Olivia's work with your team is connected to the mystic arts, her presence and identity will remain confidential. Only you, your team and a select few other third parties who are approved by myself and the rest of the Order of the Mystic arts, will be aware of her and her affiliation to our order. Secondly, she will be protected from the press. She already has enough on her plate to be getting on with without being pushed into the media circus. Thirdly, should you feel the need to take her out into the field, whether it be in New York or overseas you will need to obtain either mine or Wong's permission before taking her anywhere dangerous, even if it is in New York. And that brings me to my last condition. She stays here at the Sanctum Sanctorum and not in the Avengers Tower. She may stay there overnight if Wong or I give her permission but she must be able to be here at home at least three days a week so that she can continue her home schooling and training."

"Those are your conditions? Permission slips and anonymity?" Stark quirked an eyebrow to which Stephen smirked sardonically.

"Those are my conditions. But I think Wong has a couple more he'd like to add"

"Yes, I most certainly do" Wong grunted stepping forwards and Via was amused to see Tony stiffen in slight fear of the librarian whose voice was like ice as he said:

"I have three conditions. Firstly, you will pay Olivia for the services she offers you and your team, and you will provide her with insurance cover just like you would any other employee. Secondly, any relic of a mystical origin you and your team might find or have already found in your search will be handed over to Olivia as soon as possible to give to our order for safe keeping. And third, and this is by far the most important, you will NOT let this child come to ANY harm while under your employment because if you do, I can assure you Mister Stark that neither Strange nor I will not hesitate to dump your dead carcass into another dimension and throw away the key. Are we clear?"

"…transparently" Tony gulped, hiding his sigh of relief as the Librarian leaned back out of his personal bubble, his eyes still as sharp and cold as a hawk.

"So, do we have a deal Stark?" Stephen smirked holding out his hand.

There was a pause in which Tony looked between Stephen and Wong. His expression, Via found, was difficult to read. It was something between admiration, disgruntlement, reluctance and suspicion.

But then the billionaire's eyes found hers and the two of them looked at one another for a full thirty seconds.

Then slowly, Tony held out his hand, and shook Stephen's scarred one.

"Deal."

It was as if the temperature in the room had suddenly returned to normal.

From his spot, Wong sighed softly to himself as Tony and Stephen broke apart, gave one another a curt but respectful nod, before the former turned back to Via.

"And seeing as you're a part of this deal" Tony smirked as he held out his hand towards her.

But Via didn't take it just yet.

"Listen" she said in response to the man of iron's look of confusion "before I shake on it I just want to make a couple of things clear. I'm NOT a master of the mystic arts. I don't know all the secrets of the universe. I barely know much about this one in comparison to other sorcerers. I guess what I'm trying to say mister Stark is that, I'm not going to be perfect and that somewhere along the way there are probably gonna be huge mistakes I make. Are you sure you can take me on knowing that?"

Tony just raised his eyebrows, his arm still outstretched.

"Yep. Pretty sure. Besides what are you twelve? If you weren't making mistakes I'd be more worried"

"Alright then. If you say so." Via finally took his hand and shook it firmly, gripping it hard as he tried to pull away. "Oh yeah, and It's fourteen, not twelve, _old man_ "

"Right…got it" Tony tugged his hand out of her grip "Does her sass have an off switch or something?" he mumbled to Stephen and Wong, who both just shook their heads and smirked.

"No."

* * *

 _I will admit. The first time I met Tony Stark at that party…I really didn't like him that much._

 _He just seemed so up himself and entitled that it was really irritating. The other Avengers weren't so bad. Even Thor I didn't have much of a problem with. After all it wasn't his fault he'd been born a prince or that he hadn't grown up on Earth, or he wasn't raised according to our customs and norms._

 _I guess Tony didn't get asked to be born into money and status either, but unlike our dear resident Thunder God, humility didn't really come as easily to him as it did to everyone else._

 _But I digress._

 _Following our meeting, Tony left to go run a couple more meetings for his company. We didn't receive word till later that night and that was through an email on Stephen's tablet._

 _It was an official document congratulating me on getting a position as a paid intern at Stark Industries and that I would be reporting to Tony himself as a gofer for him and the avengers in the tower, and occasionally at "special events". I would have to report in the next Monday and spend four days a week Monday to Thursday at the Avengers Tower. I'd get Friday and the Weekends off, except of course if there were "special events" that needed help organizing._

 _Yeah…_ _ **special events,**_ *rolls eyes* _hmm, I wonder what they could be?_

 _I guess it was a good cover. After all it was the only way a teenager could be seen running around after the avengers without drawing suspicion._

 _Even so it made me a little nervous._

 _After all it was my first job ever._

 _And so Monday morning arrived and with it, Tony's car and a lot of new changes in my life…_

* * *

"Now remember you've got your sling ring but you're only to use it in times of emergency. Otherwise you are to keep all magic to a minimum."

"I know"

"And you've got money for you to use on your lunch break. As tempting as it might be try not to use it on other things like clothes or souvenirs. You will after all be seeing these people on a regular basis"

"I know"

"And remember, don't tie your hair back without brushing. Remember that wherever you work both now and in the future you must always look presentable and that means, neat hair, neat clothes and clean appearance-"

"Oh for fu-"

"And no swearing! No picking fights. Be on your best behaviour-"

"ARGH! Enough Wong I got it okay!" Via groaned rolling her eyes as Wong and Stephen both folded their arms at her.

They were standing just inside the Sanctum's front door and wishing her goodbye before she went out to hop into the back of Tony Stark's Limo.

 _Relax child. They just want to make sure you're well provided for before you head out._

The smooth soothing voice of Brynja purred in her head while her brother Asmund grunted softly.

 _The brat's proven to be able to look after herself for the base necessities, why bother?_

Via sighed. It had been more than enough drama in her life before she was a sorcerer. Now she not only had her voice to deal with inside her own head, but the voices of her two dragon guardians and that old woman Fala in the Dream Dimension.

 _Is nothing in my head private anymore?_

She thought as with a sigh she faced a disgruntled Wong and Stephen.

"Okay. I get it. No magic, only use Sling Ring for emergency, spend money wisely, be on best behaviour-"

"And make sure you're back by seven o'clock at the very latest" Stephen quirked a stern brow.

"Don't worry oh Fairy Godmother, as long as my ride doesn't turn back into a pumpkin as soon as the clock strikes the hour, I think I should be good." she added smirking as Stephen rolled his eyes.

"Olivia-"

"Oh, chillax doc I'm just teasing."

"Ahem! Your ride's waiting for you outside." Wong coughed as he opened the front door for her.

"Thanks Wong." Via stepped out, gripping the strap of her small leather back pack slightly tighter as she looked back at them, her gaze an odd mixture of anxiety and excitement. "I guess I'll see you guys later then"

"Yes. Have a good first day" Wong clipped but Stephen's goodbye was far more reassuring

"You'll do fine. Just take things one step at a time."

"Thanks guys! See ya later!" Olivia smiled as with a wave she rushed down the stairs towards the shiny black car that was parked out just in front of her.

"I still don't like the idea" Wong hissed to Stephen as they watched her quickly hop in at the back seat.

"She'll be fine" Stephen muttered though he too wasn't looking too sure.

 _I hope._

Via meanwhile had just settled into the back seat of the car which was empty. Quickly she looked up towards the drivers seat to find the black glass divider slowly sliding down.

Behind it, a stout man in a suit turned back to look at her. His face was scowling but not unkindly. It was more like a default expression than anything of malice.

"You strapped in?" he grunted gruffly, cup of coffee in his hand.

"what-oh yeah sorry" Via quickly put on her seat-belt, gulping as she looked down over herself.

She was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans, black boots, a black tank top under a fitted sky blue turtleneck sweater. Her curls were tied neatly back in a high ponytail glimmering golden like the Web of Asibikaashi around her neck and the two dragon bracelets both of which were hidden under her sweater.

The email from Tony had said she could be as casual as she wanted but still…was it too casual?...too plain?

She'd woken up late so she'd just flung on the first things she could think of. Wong and Stephen seemed pleased with her choice but still.

As if sensing her nerves the driver glanced at her in his rear-view mirror, his gaze softening slightly as he took in her anxious eyes as they darted between the windows.

"You okay kid?"

"huh? Uh…yeah…yeah…totally fine" Via quickly gulped down on her nerves, schooling her face into what she hoped was a more composed expression as she asked.

"So…uh…I'm Via. What's your name?"

"Harold Hogan" the man grunted as he turned a corner "my friends call me Happy, but it's _Harold_ Hogan"

"Nice to meet you mister Hogan"

"Mister Hogan? Hmm…I like the sound of that." The man, Happy, smirked as he preened himself off proudly, stiff shoulders relaxing "You got good manners kid"

"Yeah well I was just told to be on my best behavior for a first day of work. Probably for the best seeing as what happened at the Charity Ball" Via added quietly her cheeks flushing scarlet as Happy chuckled.

"Why what happened?"

"Well…I might have insulted one of Mister Stark's guests and then shoved cake into her face" Via mumbled.

"Wait-wait hold up a minute. You're the one who gave Sofia Caster a cake to the face?" Happy's eyes bulged in his mirror as he choked on his cup of coffee.

"Yep" Via nodded with a scowl at the memory of the lurid woman. "Old Hag"

"Come on she's only twenty seven" Happy chuckled.

"And I'm fourteen. Though between you and me she seems to have the maturity of a bratty ten year old…or even a seven year old…"

"If you say so" Happy mumbled as they stopped at a traffic light.

"Pardon?" Via muttered distractedly as she watched the many pedestrians of the City walk by her window.

"Nothin'" Happy called out quickly as the light turned green but even as he turned back to the steering wheel he let loose a large breath.

 _Wow…they really weren't kidding about the kid were they?_

He wouldn't admit it out loud, but deep down he'd been very worried about his boss letting a young girl work with the Avengers. Especially when Tony had told him that she had come from the streets.

 _This girl, from the streets?_

Happy chanced another glance at her from his rear-view mirror. She looked like a doll with her shiny blonde curls and her pretty face. But as his eyes skimmed over her expression he was struck by how stoic she seemed, far more mature than other girls her age. A woman in mind even if not in body.

 _Well…I can only hope she can put up with Tony's antics for however long she's staying._

Happy rolled his eyes as finally he pulled the car just outside the entrance to the Avengers Tower.

"Here's our stop!" he called and Via unbuckled her seatbelt, fingers fumbling in her nerves.

"Thanks mister" she smiled anxiously with a small wave at Happy as she hopped out on the pavement side.

"Good luck kid!" Happy called smiling appreciatively as he made to drive the car around into the tower parking lot.

 _Nice kid…a bit odd but nice…_

* * *

 _I have to admit. Meeting Happy put me at some ease._

 _He seemed a decent sort. Hardworking, and loyal to a fault if his track record with Tony is anything to go by._

 _And speaking of everyone's favourite billionaire…_

* * *

 _Wow…it's so different during the day_

Via nodded impressed as she walked into the front lobby of the Avengers Tower. It was just as clean and well polished as ever, though now several businessmen were seated at the front lounge and a few receptionists sat at the front desk which beeped and rang as telephones and computers were seen to.

It was to a free one that Via started to make her way towards, gulping nervously as a dark Hispanic woman looked up to smile genially at her.

"Hi there, how can I help you? Y'know if you're waiting for the school tour, they just left to go upstairs but I can call the guide-"

"Oh-no-no that won't be necessary" Via shook her head quickly, blushing pink as she said:

"Actually uh…I'm not here for school. I'm here for an internship."

"Oh…OH!" the woman's eyes bulged in recognition "You mean the new Stark Internship Program?"

"Uh…yeah…that one" Via nodded, her fingers drumming over the top of the marble reception desk as the woman quickly made to type something out on her computer screen.

"Alright now I'll just need your name and your date of birth for confirmation" she mumbled as her eyes remained glued to her screen.

"Uh…Olivia Freyja Summers. Date of Birth 31st April year 2000"

"Olivia…Olivia…" the Receptionist muttered as she scrolled her mouse.

A few nerve wracking seconds later and the receptionist smiled at her warmly.

"Aha! There you are. Miss Olivia Summers, yes, mister Stark said you'd be coming in today. And lucky you, you've been assigned to working with the team, you must be so excited?"

"Super excited" Via smiled sardonically but the receptionist did not notice as she continued to prattle excitedly.

"Usually we give our employees and guests an Id card here at the front desk, but since you'll be working personally with mister Stark he'll give you a personalized identification card instead which will give you more exclusive access to the top floors where you'll be working. Now why don't you take a seat while call someone down to take you upstairs"

"Thanks uh…"

"Clara" the receptionist smiled at Via who smiled nervously back as she timidly made her way over to sit at the lounge.

She felt extraordinarily out of place amidst all the men and women with tailored suits and briefcases, and kept glancing around at each one of them, wondering whether she had seen them at the charity ball a few nights ago.

When she realized that she could barely remember anyone else from that night except the Avengers and that Doctor Helen Cho however, she just gave up and settled for retying the laces of her boots.

She really didn't need to tie them again. She just needed something to do to avoid the curious glances the business people seated and moving were giving her as they passed her by.

 _God, who'd have thought that merely a year ago I was sitting in a gutter begging from these suits_.

She thought as she finished tying her boots and settled for checking her bag.

"Olivia Summers?" a woman's voice called and Via looked up just in time to see Maria Hill striding towards her in a black pantsuit. "If you would follow me towards the lift"

"Okay" Via got up, shouldered her bag quickly as she rushed off after the tall woman who was very pointedly trying to not look at her. At first Via wondered if it was because of the way she looked, then she noticed the furtive recognition in the woman's eyes, and remembered that was the same look she'd given her when they'd first met at the party a few days ago.

 _She knows me…Or does she know mom?_

But even as she pondered this she couldn't help but notice that she'd been taken to a long corridor away from the main lifts.

"Uh…aren't we gonna use one of those back there?" She gulped nervously as they turned a corner and found themselves standing before a glass elevator at the side of the building with a black stylized A symbol printed on the doors.

"The lower floors are mainly for Stark Industries purposes only and aren't authorized to go to the top floors" Hill clipped as she swiped her card and tapped a floor number into the elevator touchpad. "This is the only one that has access to the penthouse and upper levels. And even then there are still various levels of security you must pass before you are allowed inside."

"That secure huh? And I thought the Batcave was a fortress" Via whistled under her breath as she looked to her side and saw through the glass wall, a fantastic view of a cold grey New York city zooming further and further away as the elevator sped upwards like a bullet.

She turned back only to see Hill quirking an eyebrow at her.

"What? Haven't you ever heard of Batman before?"

"I have" Hill clipped turning back to face the doors of the lift as it started to slow down.

 _Wow…that really was fast…_

Via felt her stomach lurch as she now eyed the immense drop she was now standing over. It didn't help that the floor of the lift was also transparent for now she could see past the elevator's mechanisms and down a very dark chasm below.

Had she seen this a year ago she might have thought it cool. But after that horrible time running from Kaesilius and falling through the mirror dimension barely two weeks ago, it wasn't exactly a welcoming sight.

Needless to say she was very quick in rushing after Hill and out into a very large grand atrium which was mostly empty, save for the sounds of loud raised voices that wafted in from an open door to the right which they walked towards.

"I still don't know whether this is a good idea inviting a kid into this lifestyle-"

"Oh come on Cap, loosen up it's not as if we're gonna take her onto the battlefield with us."

"Clint's right, though don't know if we can afford to waste time babysitting a teenager-"

"You won't be babysitting her Nat. Trust me. She's young but she's got a head on her shoulders and a good deal of guts-"

"You changed your tune pretty quick Tony."

"Well you saw how she handled Caster. Besides she's the ward of Stephen Strange, and if there's one thing I know about that guy it's that he always set the bar high when it comes to people he associates with, even if he is still a bit of an ass-"

"I'm still not sure about this…Bruce, Thor, your thoughts?"

"…I don't know… honestly. I mean I only met the girl for two minutes and she seems alright…but I don't know…maybe once we get to know her I might get a clearer picture of what we're dealing with…uh Thor?"

"I agree with you friend. The maid may be young but she has spirit and a very honest disposition. It would be discourteous to at least not give her a chance to prove herself-"

"Ahem!" Hill coughed as she tapped lightly on the frame of the door.

Via quietly peered around her guide stomach turning as she saw all six Avengers suddenly turn their heads in hers and Hill's direction.

"Oh…" Tony gulped as Hill quirked an amused brow at him and stood aside to put Via in the spotlight.

"…uh…hi again" she gave a tiny nervous wave.

 _Well…that was a great introduction_

She rolled her eyes mentally as she stood there awkwardly.

"Did you just-" Tony pointed at him and his team and she nodded.

"Yep." She popped the P. "Sorry old man"

"No-no! don't be sorry at all. Come in, thanks Hill we'll take it from here." Tony scowled as Clint smirked derisively at him. With a few quick strides, the billionaire quickly walked over to Via, and led her into the room with a hand on her shoulder.

"Guys I think you already know Via Summers from a few nights ago. Via I do believe you've met the team, but for formalities sake I'll introduce them again. Except Cap because this is your _third_ meeting I believe,"

He gestured to the form of Steve Rogers bobbed his head sheepishly, his cheeks slightly pink. He was wearing a plain pair of white track pants, trainers and a white Tshirt and had a sweat towel over his shoulder and a water bottle in his hand.

"Over here is Doctor Bruce Banner aka The Hulk." Tony continued gesturing to the kindly slightly shorter, meek looking Bruce who was wearing a lab coat over his casual shirt and slacks and adjusting a thick pair of glasses over his nervous eyes.

"Nice to see you again Doctor Banner" Via reached out to shake his hand and was relieved Bruce managed a small smile.

"It's nice to see you too kid. How's the head?"

"Oh it's all good. All right as rain back there" Via smirked as she ran a hand over the back of her curls as Tony turned her round to face Thor, who likewise was in a T-shirt and pants who bowed his head respectfully.

"And of course you know our resident thunder god-"

"Lady Via"

"Oh-no-no! it's okay! Uh just Via is fine. I'm anything but a lady trust me" Via flushed pink much to Clint's amusement as he stepped forwards, dressed in boardshorts and a tank top.

"Clint Barton, Aka Hawkeye." Tony sighed. Just how much longer was this going to take?

"Hey kid. Nervous?" Clint smirked only to get slapped on the shoulder by the red-haired form of-

"And last but certainly, definitely not least, the Black Widow herself, Natasha Romanoff"

"It's nice to officially meet you Olivia." Natasha reached forwards to shake Via's hand. Unlike the men, who had handled her like glass, the spy's grip was rather firm.

"Nice to _officially_ meet you too" Via met the grip with her own firm grasp, gulping as she glanced at the shape of the woman's form showcased by her leggings and sports bra. She was curvy, but Via could see the lean strong muscles in the woman's arms and the steely gleam in her eyes as she all but scanned Via in return. Via had seen that look before in several of the female masters back at Kamar Taj and she knew at once that she'd never cross this woman if it was the last thing she'd ever do.

She was thankful for Tony's rescue as he coughed, and Natasha let her go, still keeping a close eye on her as the billionaire began speaking.

"Okay so that's all the introductions done. Now I know I said I was hiring an intern to work with us but…that wasn't entirely true. You see, young Via here has a few extra…uh…gifts…that could be of a real asset to us finding Loki's magic Scepter"

"What does she do magic hocus-pocus like him?" Clint snorted.

"As a matter of fact yes…she does" Tony said before Via could even open her mouth.

Clint's eyes bulged, as did everyone else's in the room.

"Wait! Hold up…I was just kidding-Holy crap you don't mean to tell us-" Clint spluttered with incredulous laughter, only to be steamrolled by Thor's wide grin of wonderment.

"You are a sorceress? But I thought humans gave up the mystic arts long ago-"

"A lot did" Via shrugged "But those that continued to practice the mystic arts went underground during the early witch trials of the fifteenth century."

"If sorcerers are in hiding how did Tony ever hear about you?" Bruce frowned, his surprise being replaced by curiosity.

"Through Nick Fury" Tony explained flippantly "Apparently SHIELD used to liaise with this secret society of magicians, who used to help them find and fight paranormal things with their hocus pocus and what not-"

"OK, old man first off we aren't _magicians_ we're _sorcerers_ " Via glowered irritably at Tony who bristled at the insult "and secondly we don't use hocus pocus. We use spells…and sometimes the odd curse and or hex…but mainly spells…"

"Can you show us one?" Clint asked excitedly only to waver under the withering look Via sent his way.

 _"_ Hey, give her a break okay, it's her first day. Plus, she's a human not a performing monkey" Steve folded his arms at Clint who whined.

"Oh, come on just one spell. It doesn't have to be a big one."

"Clint-" Natasha sighed but Via just put a hand up.

"It's okay. I'll do it just…I might need a bit of room"

"In that case why don't we head to the training room. There's lots of room in there for you to show off your skills" Tony smirked as Via sighed in defeat.

 _Oh well, there goes my promise for zero magic_

* * *

 _And that was how I began my initiation into the Stark Internship Program. My cover was completely blown in one swoop by Tony Stark. And now I had to showcase my rather meager set of skills in front of a team of Earth's greatest heroes._

 _Yeah...talk about no pressure._

 _Thanks a lot Tony._

* * *

"Uh…do you guys mind if I-" Via gestured to her turtle neck.

"As long as you've got something on under that feel free" Natasha said, her eyes trained on Via as she shed the blue layer off, to reveal her toned torso under her black tank top.

"Those are some nasty scars young one" Thor pointed worriedly and Via looked down.

 _Crap…I knew I should've worn a T-shirt_

She cursed as she noticed to her horror, two horrible scars spreading over both her shoulders. The one on the right was longer and deeper than the one on the left, which was more jagged and uneven.

"Rough childhood" she grunted as she folded her blue top and shed her boots.

"You didn't have them at the party" Bruce eyed the marks, wincing as one of them caught the light.

"I covered it up with make-up" Via explained, though in her head she added:

 _For just this reason._

"Are you sure they're old? They look pretty fresh-" Steve wondered but was interrupted by Via rolling her eyes.

"listen do you lot want a magic demonstration or not?"

"Go ahead, demonstrate away" Tony smirked as with a click of his fingers, the dim lights in the room suddenly burst into bright light, revealing a large square room, with wooden floors and various equipment stationed at different points around the walls while the centre was left bare.

She stepped towards it, taking in deep breaths as she let herself feel the wooden floorboards beneath her now bare feet.

 _I can do this… Just trust your training Via…trust your training._

She turned on her heel to face them. She wished she hadn't. They were all looking expectantly at her.

 _You had to do your spells in front of the Ancient One, the most powerful sorcerer in the world, you can show a few simple spells in front of a few heroes._

She sucked in a deep breath.

 _A simple shield spell should do the trick._

"Hey Cap! You still got that water bottle?" She asked and the captain nodded "okay good. Now throw it at me."

"What?" Steve blinked and Via rolled her eyes yet again.

"throw it. Like you're throwing a rock at my head. Come on"

"Are you sure, because Cap's got a strong arm" Bruce frowned anxiously but Via nodded.

"Yeah I'm sure. Now throw!"

Steve gulped, hoping against hope that he wouldn't land, but after so many years of practice with his shield his arm was already smoothly moving in a graceful but strong arc and the water bottle went flying for the girls face.

But it did not hit the mark.

Instead there was a flash of amber sparks as it bounced off what appeared to be a glowing Tao mandala that hovered before Via's outstretched hand.

But even as Via lowered it someone with red hair and pale skin darted towards her.

"Natasha!" several male voices yelled as Via leapt out of the way of Natasha's attack, ducking under the woman's sweeping arm before aiming a swift roundhouse to her ribs.

The Black widow was quick to catch it and blocked it sweeping it upwards, but Via sensing the push quickly pushed herself back into a backflip, the Web of Asibikaashi around her neck helping her quickly right herself as she landed in a low crouch on the floor.

"Okay…was not expecting that…" Clint murmured as he and the rest of the male avengers watched Via quickly lunge in low, sweeping her leg out to swipe at Natasha's ankles.

Natasha was quick to jump up to avoid the sweep, but Via could see she was looking faintly surprised even as the younger girl started blocking her swift hits and kicks.

 _Damn! This chick is tough!_

Via winced as she met each of Natasha's blows. Though she was a slender woman, the Black Widow was deceptively strong…and smart…and holding back.

Yes Via could tell at once the woman was holding back her real strength, but was not surprised. The woman was after all a highly trained assassin. If she really wanted to kill her she'd already be dead by now. And in any case, this wasn't so much a sparring contest as much as it was a test...and Via was going to do whatever she could to ace it.

Via spotted a quick opening in the woman's defenses as she reeled back from a punch and quickly she jabbed her fist forward in a one knuckle punch to dig painfully in-between her opponents ribs.

Despite her strength, Natasha winced slightly, her eyes gleaming as she suddenly smirked.

It took a split second. One moment Via was standing on her own two feet, the next she'd been swept down firmly on her back, held down hard by one of the Black Widow's arms.

"Okay! Okay Nat! I think that's enough." Steve called out, striding forwards quickly.

Natasha quickly got off Via holding out a hand down to her.

"Not bad kid" her smirk widened as she helped hoist a panting Via back up to her feet.

"Thanks…you're not too bad yourself" She turned back to the other Avengers, grinning as she caught sight of their surprised faces "Well…that was fun. What now?"

* * *

 _So yeah…that happened. I did a shield spell then I sparred with the Black Widow herself. Sure she beat me hands down but still…_

 _It was awesome._

 _I really mean it. Back at Kamar Taj there weren't too many female instructors in martial arts, and I never trained with any of the older women, so for me fighting with a woman like Natasha was great!_

 _But, ahem, yeah, enough about me fangirling. Because whilst my first few hours in the Tower was fun there was a storm brewing outside_

 _…and boy was it was a big one._

* * *

"Operation Fishbait is compromised Baron. It must be aborted." Cornelius Craven hissed into his earpiece, his black gloved fingers drumming against the steering wheel of his black car.

"Why? Because Summers has escaped. Without him this mission is a bust. No-no of course-yes I'm keeping an eye on the girl. -no of course not Baron. I know she's important to your plans I'm not-wait-son of a!" Cornelius swore quietly as the call was hung up on the other end.

He pocketed his phone, glaring out of his car window. He'd just received word that the brat had entered the building barely an hour ago. Now he was just going to waste his day sitting around and waiting for her to get out so that he could follow her?

"God brat I hope you're worth all this trouble"

He growled softly to himself as his phone rang again.

"Craven speaking" he grunted as he picked it up. But there was no sound.

"Hello?" he frowned, but all he got was silence. There wasn't even the someone breathing heavily on the other side. It was just quiet.

"Must be wrong number" he grunted as he quickly shut his phone off again only to freeze as he glanced in the rear view mirror and saw someone sitting behind him.

Hand flying to his hip he pulled out a gun to the back-middle passenger seat of his car…only to find it completely empty.

"I wouldn't bother with that if I were you mister Craven. You'll find such a weapon quite useless on someone like me." A woman's voice giggled and Cornelius looked back up to the rear view mirror. In it he could see the figure of a woman, tall pale and curvy, with stylish blonde waves. She was wearing a long black dress with a black hat and a short black veil obscuring much of her pale face from view.

The only thing he could see were her red lips which curled into a sneer as he spat.

"Who are you? And what do you want?"

"I have many names. And what I want does not matter. I'm here to discuss what _you_ want mister Craven."

"And what do you think _I_ want?" Craven hissed, blood boiling as the woman's leer widened.

"The girl, Olivia Freyja Sorenson…dead…by yours and your brothers hands…like it should have been all those years ago on the day she was born."

"…I'm listening…"

* * *

 **And Tadaa! Chapter 4 up and running.**

 **So yeah Via's first day with the team. I figured the Black Widow would be able to see if Via had fighting training after watching her demonstrating her powers. Also given her background with SHIELD she'd probs know about the relic hunters or would have heard of them from Fury.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed the fight scene. I'm trying my best to make Via not a Mary Sue (so any of you please feel free to tell me if i am going down that path. nothing is more horrifying to me than to be pushing a sickeningly perfect character).**

 **I admit, it sure was tempting sure to make a character that's super strong and perfect, but i don't think that Via at this point would ever have won against Natasha. Via is a tough cookie and is good at martial arts but that's only because of her training at Kamar-Taj and her rough background. At this point in her life there's just no way she'd be able to beat the Black Widow in a fight. The only reasons i figured she might have stood a chance against Natasha was because one, Natasha was holding back, two because everyone else underestimates her because of her youth and three because Natasha Romanoff is a highly trained assassin/secret agent with years of experience under her belt.**

 **But anyway enough of my ramblings, i hope you guys enjoyed and please review your thoughts on what you might like to see next ;)**

 **Cheers**

 **Fuzzy Beta**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Read My A.U.R.A**

A dark haired man with long sideburns and a thick dark beard strode towards the black armoured car, a half burned cigarette dangling limply from his lips. He was a tall muscular man wearing a dark brown jacket with black fur hood to obscure his sunglass covered eyes from view and a picture of a large lion's head printed on his black T-shirt. Over this he wore a thick necklace of sharp pointed fangs that glinted in the cold sunlight.

He was quick to hop into the car on the passenger's side, barely batting an eye as the white blonde haired man in the driver's seat turned to roll his eyes at him.

"What did I say about smoking in the car Sergei?" the blonde man grunted in his deep British voice.

"Fine" The man, Sergei, snorted, his Russian accent slightly thicker as he took a long drag before tossing the end of his cigarette out the window.

He turned to face the blonde man with a scowl.

"I assume this is about Elias Summers? Or else you would not have called me off the mission-"

"The mission doesn't matter" the british man cut across him curtly.

"Doesn't matter?" the Russian tilted down his glasses to reveal a pair of beady dark eyes almost identical in shape and colour to the man's next to him. "Cornelius, the man's the key to the whole operation if we lose him now-"

"Don't worry brother." Cornelius drummed his fingers on his stationary steering wheel "Elias will be dealt with. In the meanwhile we have a new mission. We have to find and keep an eye on the brat instead."

"And leave Strucker to send his little goons after that bastard? I think not. No this is a job for a hunter not a novice with a gun."

"These are not the Barons orders…they are mine"

Sergei looked to Cornelius eyes wide.

"You want to go solo now! Are you mad-If Strucker finds out-"

"What the Baron doesn't know won't hurt him" Cornelius narrowed his eyes dangerously, and though he was slightly smaller than his brother, the latter backed down quickly.

"I've been networking. And I've found someone willing to help us get our revenge, far quicker than the Baron. They will take care of Elias for us -"

"But we're the Kraven brothers! We hunt our prey wherever we wish, however we choose. We don't hide behind mystery benefactors-"

"This is not a benefactor. This is a partner, and they have a grudge against the Sorenson's as well. And they aren't doing the hunting. They're merely the bait to lure the girl in, and then we can do what we want with her."

"Whatever we want?" Sergei's lip curled in a sinister sneer, one which his brother returned even more nastily.

"Whatever we want. And who knows, once we have her, we might even be able to reel in some even bigger fish."

* * *

"Do you think she's doing okay?" Stephen Strange asked as he looked out a window of his study.

Wong rolled his eyes, as he rearranged the bookshelf behind the doctor's back. That was the third time that morning that Stephen had asked that question, and despite the librarian's best assurances he still looked rather anxious.

"For a man who claims to hate children you sure are worried about her" he muttered.

"I felt her when I was meditating half an hour ago" Stephen glared as he flipped over a page in his spell book. "She seemed distressed"

"You felt her presence?" Wong blinked in surprise at his charge.

"I've been practicing feeling for life forces during my meditations." Stephen explained quietly as he made a note on his computer tablet. "It's been coming along slowly, but Olivia is one of the few I can sense quickly"

"Probably because of your close emotional connection to one another. Don't look at me like that." Wong's smug smirk returned full force as Stephen's eyes narrowed dangerously "It's plain for all to see that the two of you care for one another a great deal. Besides its always far easier to be able to detect life forces of people you are close to, than it is to strangers. Especially if you are related to them by blood"

"So if I was to say, have a biological child-" Stephen relaxed as comprehension dawned.

"The connection would be instantaneous, yes." Wong nodded turning his back on Stephen who just stared at his book blankly, his expression somewhat worried. But he quickly shoved it off and got back to his book.

 _No…you're right. She'll be fine. If anything, I think I'm more worried for Tony Stark's last dregs of sanity than anything else_

He smirked at the memory of his ward's sass towards the billionaire.

Yes…Tony Stark and his team were going to have their hands full with Olivia Summers that was for sure.

* * *

 _My morning with the Avengers was…well as I said it was eventful. After that great sparring match with Natasha I was quickly brought back to the main area of the Avengers quarters for a tour of them._

 _Yeah a tour…with the whole team tailing behind. Don't worry it wasn't that boring…even with Tony prattling on as he did._

* * *

"And this is the theatre room. Sometimes we do movie nights in here after missions if everyone's not too tired" Tony boasted loudly as he showcased what appeared to be a small cinema with a huge screen and several comfy cushioned recliners set in three rows.

Via had to admit, it was kinda cool.

"Anything to save buying a ticket huh old man?" she smirked much to the amusement of the others.

"We used to try going out to the pictures before but we keep on getting swamped by other people so we don't usually get to enjoy ourselves in peace" Steve sighed, wearily, as if the memory was still haunting him.

"Jesus, you guys must face a lot of crap outside huh?" Via muttered sympathetically and Natasha shrugged.

"Usually it's alright. Bruce, Clint and I can usually keep our heads down in public. It's more Tony, Thor and Steve that hog the spotlight."

"Hey, we don't hog we shine!" Tony grinned smugly only to scowl as Via snorted under her breath.

"Could've fooled me old man."

"Seriously there has to be some way to turn that sass off." Tony groaned as his team sniggered at his expense.

"Relax friend Tony" Thor chuckled "the girl's wit is sharp as a sword but she only jests."

"Yeah, what he said" Via smiled. She barely knew the guy but she was certain that she was going to like Thor. Norse God or not, he seemed genuinely friendly. In fact, he reminded her a lot of her old friend Arty.

 _God Arty…_

Via thought her heart sinking at the thought of the stocky auburn-haired boy. Would he have forgiven her yet? Would he ever forgive her? It had only been a couple of weeks since the Ancient One's funeral and she hadn't heard a peep from him…

 _I hope he's doing okay._

She was grateful that no one else seemed to notice her sudden thoughtfulness as she was led through all the rooms, labs until finally they came upon the actual personal rooms which were located along a very long large corridor.

"And these are the bedrooms. You probably won't be seeing much of them since you won't be living here. But if you do have to stay the night, or if you just want some privacy, then you can use this room." Tony opened the third door to the right, where Via was exposed to what looked like a combination of lounge, study and bedroom.

It was large and like the rest of the building the room's décor was modern, but still quite blank with a plain blue comforter and small paintings hanging on the wall. Via supposed it was luxurious and comfortable, but she honestly preferred her own bedroom back at the Sanctum, which while half the size of this room, was cosy and very much hers.

 _Oh well…at least I can use it as a private study or office or practice room or something_

She reasoned as she was led back to the main living area where there was a large high-tech kitchen area opening out onto a metal table with eight comfortable looking chairs around it.

"Right!" Tony's clap snapped her out of her thoughts as he led her and the team to the table "I don't know about you guys but I'm pretty hungry. Kid you hungry? Course you are, a teenager's always hungry"

Via was about to reject when her stomach decided to answer for her with a loud warble.

"Sorry" She blushed red, but the other Avengers merely waved it off.

"It's alright." Bruce patted her shoulder reassuringly "You should hear Thor's stomach after a mission"

"Why does it sound like thunder?" Via quirked a brow to the thunder god who chuckled.

"Aha! Good one, little one"

Via rolled her eyes, but Natasha was quick to notice that the girl was still smiling slightly.

The spy felt herself relax a little.

The girl was odd, and she was still a bit on the defensive if her body language was anything to go by, but she seemed…alright.

 _At least she knows how to defend herself._

Natasha sighed as she took a seat at the table, watching the girl as she was all but forced front and centre at the head of the table by Tony as the others took their places, watching her eagerly.

"So, Via why don't you tell us more about yourself while I get the food delivered. I'm thinking pizza-" the billionaire walked off, ignoring the now rather mortified face of the young girl as she sat there, bewildered.

"Sorry about him." Steve smiled apologetically "Tony tends to get really excited about stuff like this"

"Really. I'd hate to see him on caffeine" Via rolled her eyes as she sank back, folding her arms.

 _Again, defensive. Uses sarcasm as a crutch whenever backed into a corner socially._

Natasha thought exchanging a wary glance with Clint who then asked:

"So Via…you were born here in New York right?"

Via's eyebrows rose as she answered coolly.

"I would've thought you guys would've known by now. Considering you two were once a part of Shield."

Both agents stiffened uncomfortably and were relieved when Bruce swooped in to their rescue, his tone soft and careful as he asked:

"Yeah they were. But not anymore. How did you find out?"

"I read your minds" Via deadpanned.

"You are a telepath?" Thor wondered out loud but Via just shook her head.

"Not really. I just wanted to see your reactions." She smirked. "No, I googled you guys at home last night. Kinda easy to do since that whole disaster happened at Washington"

"Ah…that would make sense" Clint relaxed amused, but Natasha narrowed her eyes as the girl locked her gaze and snorted derisively.

"I'm guessing you've read my file"

"Some of it" Natasha said calmly, but Via could feel the ice behind her stare. "You were born on 30th April year 2000. Birthplace is unknown but you were left here in New York when you were around two to three weeks old at the Hope Haven Orphanage in the Bronx. Despite there being no record of your birth parents on your birth certificate you are the biological daughter of Freyja Sorenson, the MIA ex-ally of SHIELD."

"Sorenson?!" Thor boomed, making Via almost jump in her seat. "As in the Sons of Soren?"

"Uh…dunno…maybe" Via gulped nervously as those blue eyes stared at her questioningly as he asked eagerly:

"The crest of your house, is it that of two dragons entwined in a ring?"

"Uh…yeah…they are. They bite each other's tails." Via frowned "Though I don't know. Maybe they are the same clan…Umm…I guess my birth family does come from Norway-"

"Which part?" Natasha asked sharply.

"Tønsberg, or at least that's where the family home is. But I've never been there." Via spluttered.

"Tønsberg… Tønsberg…that sounds familiar" Steve rubbed his chin. Where had he heard that name before?

His thoughts were interrupted by a distinctly British but very computerized voice suddenly announcing.

"Tønsberg is a municipality in Vestfold county, southern Norway, located around 63 miles south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The municipality has a population of 41,239 and covers an area of 41 square miles."

"Whoa! what the hell was that?" Via squeaked as she all but leapt from her chair.

"Oh that? That's Jarvis. He keeps this whole place organized and running" Tony called out as he re-entered the room, trying to carry a bag full of sodas and colas while balancing several boxes of pizza in his arms.

He nearly fell over as he deposited them on the table, much to the amusement of his friends.

"Hey, some people don't have super strength." He growled as he made to distribute the food across the table "Dig in. Now Jarvis what were we talking about?"

"Miss Summers was just explaining her ancestral roots in relation to the Norwegian town Tønsberg. Though I think my sudden appearance might have surprised her" Jarvis said, his voice ever so slightly apologetic.

"I'm fine. I probably shouldn't have over reacted" Via sucked in a deep breath, still looking a little rattled as she took a piece of pizza.

"Don't worry kid you aren't the first Jarvis has spooked" Clint grunted as he tore his teeth dog like into a rather cheesy piece of pizza.

"Last I checked my updates Agent Barton, I wasn't programmed by Tony Stark to… _spook"_ Jarvis clipped, and Via could've sworn the AI sounded almost irritated. "Needless to say, I will endeavour to update my behavioural code so that I do not cause spontaneous distress to others when I speak"

"No-no it's okay. No need to update" Via shook her head "I'm fine really."

"But your heart rate is elevated, and your body is exhibiting signs of stress-" Jarvis stated, only to be drowned out by Tony waving his hand.

"Yes, thank you Jarvis that will be all."

"Of course, sir" Jarvis answered cordially before turning quiet.

Taking advantage of the sudden pause, Clint turned back to Via, interested.

"So, Sorenson huh? I've heard the name. But way back when I was a junior agent. They worked closely with Fury if I remember correctly." the archer quirked a brow at Via who shrugged.

"Yeah…apparently my mom was helping SHIELD do…well…I guess what I'm supposed to be helping you guys do apparently"

"What as in locating Loki's sceptre?" Bruce questioned curiously and Thor's grin of wonderment widened.

"So, you are a relic hunter? That is a most noble vocation Lady Via."

"Well, yeah, or at least a Relic Hunter in train-wait hang on! You know about relic hunters?" Via gawked at the Thunder god who's smile widened.

"But of course! Relic hunting is an ancient tradition of our Asgardian sorcerers of old. We taught such skills to certain clans of humans back during our wars with the Frost Giants so that they may find magical artefacts to use to defend themselves in battle. Including the Sons of Soren. Yes, they were amongst the strongest human warriors that fought alongside my father during many a battle."

"…I guess that makes sense" Via looked back down to her plate, feeling her stomach churn. "I mean from what I've been told most of my birth family seemed to be relic hunters-"

"You mean the Sorenson's?" Steve asked and Via shrugged.

"Yep them"

Thor beamed, his happiness shining from his perfect teeth, straight through his blonde locks.

"Ah, my friends this is a glorious day. What fortune it is that the man of iron could find the last descendant of such a celebrated clan. The Fates really are in our favour. Yes, I think Lady Via would be an excellent addition to our team"

Via pointed her head down to eat her pizza, hoping against hope that no one would see how red her face was.

She failed miserably.

"Oh, what's this now you're shy?" Tony laughed incredulously, his chuckles growing louder as Via narrowed her eyes dangerously at him.

"Does _he_ have an off switch?" she asked Steve, who shook his head with a smirk.

"No. And believe me if we found it, we would've used it by now."

"Now? We would've used it the day we met him" Natasha deadpanned, though her sharp eyes betrayed the slightest amusement as the billionaire spluttered.

"HEY!"

Everyone at the table laughed, but Via quickly stopped as she felt her head throb.

"Whoa hey! You okay kid?" Tony frowned as she rubbed her temple.

"Yeah…totally fine" Via grunted, but she looked rather disturbed. "that was weird…" she muttered under her breath.

She couldn't quite explain it, but she just felt a terrible jolt somewhere in her stomach. She could tell at once that it wasn't a sick feeling. No, this was…this was different…something mystical she was sure…

"Apart from an elevated heart rate, Miss Summers seems to be in perfect health" Jarvis piped in.

"Is it your head? Do you want us to-"

Via put up a hand to silence Bruce, shutting her eyes as she tried to focus on the feeling. It was almost like an invisible hand was tugging on a string connected to her head. But even as she tried to reach out with her mind, the mysterious force suddenly vanished.

She opened her eyes, only to start as she saw all six adults looking at her worriedly.

It was then she felt her hair suddenly float down to settle on her shoulders.

"Sorry" she mumbled, avoiding their eyes "I thought I sensed something…but its cool."

"Sensed something? What like dead people?" Clint snorted, only for his expression to fall as Via stared blankly at him.

"No not the dead. The dead can't use magic as a rule." Via rolled her eyes as she took another slice of pizza "No…most types of mystic energies prefer to bind themselves to the souls of the living. If you want to bind magic to a dead thing then you'd have to know some form of Necromancy, which yes, does in fact exist" she added as Clint opened his mouth.

"Have you ever met a necromancer?" Tony frowned.

"Yes…or at least I think he was one." Via shuddered "a lot of the relics he used were said to have been created by old necromancers, and the guy…well…he was evil and creepy enough to be one even if he wasn't."

"So, what happened to him?" Natasha asked, her voice soft but careful.

"Ironically, he's dead" Via snorted and though her tone was light, the team all saw her eyes gleam oddly as she stood up.

"Excuse me. I gotta go see a man about a horse"

And before any of them could speak she was already striding out of the room and out of sight.

About a minute's silence of staring at the spot she'd vanished, Clint frowned at the others, his friendly demeanour vanishing, to be replaced by the serious SHIELD agent he once was.

"What the hell was all that about?"

"She was involved in his death" Natasha said bluntly, her tone cold. "I'm guessing his death must've been pretty recent because those scars on her shoulders look pretty fresh"

"Crap Tony, I know you said this kid was odd. But just who the hell is she really?" Clint's pinched his nose.

"Quite honestly I do not know. And I don't think she knows either" Tony admitted quietly, his eyes unusually grim.

"She did seem surprised to learn about her family. From how she speaks she doesn't really seem to see herself as one of them" Bruce rubbed his chin thoughtfully, though the others could see the slightly green tinge in his skin intensify ever so slightly.

"Well she was orphaned from a young age." Steve offered.

"But why though, my friends?" Thor leaned forwards on his elbows. "The Sons of Soren were once a strong clan with many a follower. How is it that they could've diminished to such a small number that their only remaining heir is left to the mercy of the Fates?"

"Times change Thor" Tony muttered as he pulled up a few holographic images "the Sorenson's power and prestige might have dwindled over time. Not to mention if they had produced more daughters than sons, the family name might not have passed on easily to the next generation."

"Also, her mother worked with Fury" Natasha said softly "She would've had a lot of enemies after her. You can't raise a child on the run."

There was silence as they all digested this last bit of information, none of them noticing the small head of blond hair that darted back around the corner of the room.

 _Well…that's one hell of an impression you've given them Via. Now they're really gonna think you're a freak._

Via sighed as she entered the nearby bathroom, leaning on its door as she shut it behind her.

She ran a hand through her curls, biting her lip hard as she tried sucking in a deep breath.

 _Okay…okay just take a deep breath._

But no matter how many deep breaths she took, she could not shake out that horrifying image of that skeletal face with the one brown eye and one burnt milky white one from her vision.

"Jesus!" she squeaks as someone knocks on the door behind her.

"Hey, kid. Are you alright." A woman's voice calls through the door.

It was Natasha.

"I'm fine" Via responded, but even she could hear the waver in her voice that was totally NOT fine.

She looked at herself in the mirror, shutting her eyes and listening as the spy outside her door began speaking again.

"We're gonna finish the orientation soon when you're up for it."

"Okay" Via replied her tone tense.

There was a soft thump and Via was sure that the woman was also leaning against the door on the other side.

"Wash your face" Natasha grunted softly, though to Via it sounded more like an order than anything else.

"Right" Via nodded and quickly went to do what she was told. Despite her still rolling stomach, the cold water was quite refreshing against her skin.

"Do you have a hairbrush?" Natasha asked as the tap was shut off.

"Yeah…" Via frowned, not quite sure why the spy would be asking for such an object.

"Brush your hair."

Via brushed her hair, savouring the feel of the firm bristles against her scalp. She wondered if she had been a dog in another life, because by god she loved it when her head was scratched.

"You done?"

"Almost" Via muttered as she quickly brushed out the knots from the ends of her curls. They always caused her the most trouble.

 _You can do this_

The inhaled deeply, and was relieved to feel Asmund and Brynja glowing on her wrist.

Though she complained often about the lack of space in her own head, truth be told she was glad they were there. Even if Asmund was a jerk.

 _I heard that child_

The dragon hissed in her head, making Via roll her eyes fondly as she opened the door to the bathroom revealing a very calm, stoic faced Natasha

"Better?" the agent asked.

"Better…thanks" Via nodded, giving the woman a smile, which was returned ever so slightly.

"If ever you find yourself over stressing, stop, take a step back and do something normal. Trust me it helps" Natasha said as they began walking back down the corridor.

"I'll remember that" Via's smile widened and before she could stop herself she blurted out "By the way that was some killer take down you did this morning. Was it Judo?"

"Brazilian jiu-jitsu" Natasha smirked, preening herself slightly "All Shield agents are required to learn a variety of martial arts. Speaking of fighting, I didn't think the streets of New York taught martial arts-"

"it's part of my training as a sorcerer" Via blushed a bright pink "I only started a few months ago"

"I see…" Natasha quirked a brow as they entered the main lounging area again. The pizza boxes were all gone and the rest of the team were standing there along with a few extras.

Amongst them Via recognised Maria Hill who was talking with Clint about something. A man with dark skin and wearing a bright red T-shirt was talking to Steve who was looking serious. Next to them Tony was greeting his Colonel Rhodes and a pretty woman in a smart white pantsuit with long red hair tied back in a ponytail.

It was she who Natasha directed Via towards as they walked into the room

"Oh, hey Nat, I was wondering- oh who is this?" the woman blinked at the sight of Via who smiled nervously as Tony boomed:

"Ah! Yes you two haven't met yet. Via this is Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries, world's best girlfriend etcetera etcetera. Pepper this is Via Summers. Y'know the new _intern_ I told you about"

"Ah Summers, then you're Stephen's new ward? He spoke very highly of you at the party." the woman Pepper's face brightened into a friendly smile as she and Via shook hands

Tony however looked disgruntled.

"And what else did _Stephen_ say?" he muttered darkly.

"Just because you have issues with the man, doesn't mean we all do" Pepper clipped, and quickly her boyfriend retreated as she turned back to Via.

"If he irritates you feel free to tell him off."

"Already doing that but nothing seems to be working" Via smirked.

 _You can do this Via you can do this. Just smile and keep going._

She thought as she watched everyone around her laugh, vaguely reminded of her time at Kamar Taj.

It felt like a lifetime ago she had been sitting amongst her peers at the lunch table, passing jokes about the masters or their lessons. But even then she'd had the reassurance of Stephen or Mordo being somewhere close by…

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up as Natasha quickly steered her to meet the man talking to Steve. His name was Sam Wilson, and though Via could see he wasn't too sure about having a kid join them, he was nice to her all the same.

Though Via couldn't help but wonder if that wasn't because of the highly trained assassin standing behind her.

Though cold and aloof, Via could see a lot of herself in the spy. She didn't know what it was. Maybe it was because they had sparred together, or because unlike everyone else she didn't treat her like a child.

Either way, she couldn't help but feel glad. At least there was one person in the building who seemed to understand what she was going through.

* * *

 _Meeting with the Avengers was stressful. Not because I was meeting superheroes that everyone fawns over. But because I only just realized how much pressure I was under to get things done right._

 _If I failed there was a chance of many people either getting hurt, and of the wrong people getting away with hurting them._

 _Not to mention everyone had high expectations to be like my mother._

 _Something which I seriously wanted to put to rest as quickly as possible, and I might've done that too if Tony hadn't interfered yet again._

* * *

She was alone with Tony in one of the Labs. Everyone else was downstairs chatting when the billionaire decided to steal Via away from them.

"Technically we still need to complete the orientation. And if you're going to be working with us you'll need the right tools of the trade" He grunted as he stretched out towards a small metal table on which several items were sitting.

"Your ID badge for the building." he handed her a lanyard with a black card emblazoned with the Avengers "A" symbol. "Never lose this. It's your ticket into the building and-"

"You don't want any bad guys getting in?" Via finished.

"Exactly." Tony grinned. "Good, you pick up fast"

"Not really. It just makes sense"

"Fair enough" Tony turned back to the table, where he picked up two things that were small and black.

"A pocket taser and some pepper spray" he explained "I know I promised Strange I'd keep your pretty head out of harm's way, but let's face it we're heroes and we get in trouble. This is just a backup in case it's difficult to fight back. Though hopefully it won't come to that."

"I dunno. Being a sorcerer in training's not exactly a safe occupation anyway." Via deadpanned but she accepted the taser and the spray all the same.

"I don't doubt it" Tony muttered quietly only to cough as he presented her with the last object on the table.

It was slick, very slender smartphone with a black screen and a golden back on which a Stark Industries logo sticker was stuck.

"Whoa! What the-" Via spluttered as Tony turned it over, showing her all the dimensions

"It's a prototype" Tony shrugged "Stark Industries is breaking into the smartphone market at Christmas. Production has already begun on all the models we've thought up, but this is one of the first prototypes."

"And you're giving it to me?" Via looked at the billionaire as if he'd grown five extra heads.

"Well yeah of course. The rest of the team have one of these, and since you're gonna be working with us you're really gonna need it. Especially with the work you're gonna be doing." He added cutting her protestations short with a sharp look as he handed it over to her along with a plug and cable.

"Now she can be charged on this but can also be charged by body heat so keep her close. She also can access Jarvis's databases-"

"Wait hold up-hold up. _She?_ Who's She exactly"

"This" Tony grinned smugly as he swiped his thumb across the screen firmly.

At once it came to life, a blue interface flashing before Via's eyes as a distinctly feminine British voice (that sounded oddly like a young computerized version of Julie Andrews) spoke from the phone.

"Good Afternoon mister Stark, Miss Summers. How may I be of assistance."

"holy crap" Via gaped in an unflattering imitation of a dead fish as Tony Stark grinned wider than ever before.

"Via Summers, meet Aura, your Augmented Utility Regulations Advisor."

"Aura…" Via blinked stunned at the tiny phone as it was pressed into her hands.

"She's an AI like Jarvis. But much smaller and less powerful." Tony explained, smirking. "She's got all our numbers in there, as well as the one to your home. Still can't believe you guys actually own such an ancient landline but anyway-Since you won't be living with us you'll still need access to any information you need if you're working from home."

"So, she's a computer too?"

"Phone, computer. She's got it all" Tony smirked, as he leaned back against the table. "Go on ask her something."

"Uh…okay…uh Aura-"

"Yes, Miss Summers?" Aura asked, her genteel voice soothing.

"Uh…okay firstly can you stop calling me that and just call me Via?"

"Of course, designation change confirmed. Is there anything else I can do for you Via?"

"Uh yeah can you tell me the speed of light?"

"The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second." Aura answered swiftly "If you'd like I could bring up some articles on space travel and light-speed for you to read"

"No that's great thank you Aura" Via gulped.

"She's also equipped with the latest in security to keep others locked out if anyone other than you or I try to hack her, and if you're in trouble she will send Jarvis a distress signal upon activation and send us your GPS co-ordinates-"

"Why?"

"Why? Because that way someone can come and help-" Tony frowned but Via waved him off.

"That's not what I meant. I mean…Why are you doing all this? Why are you trying to be so nice? Giving me all this stuff? I mean don't get me wrong I'm grateful for all you're doing but… why me?"

"Why not?" Tony shrugged as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Via stayed silent, not quite sure what to say. She wasn't sure if it was just a compliment or a fact he was stating.

Tony sighed rubbing his forehead.

 _This kid is just too stubborn for her own good._

"Listen, don't let this charming face of mine fool you, but I know what it's like having the pressure of living up to other people's expectations. My dad was also an _incredible_ man, and many people always expected me to be like him, heck people still expect me to be like him." He added and Via was surprised to hear a note of bitterness in his voice. "I'm guessing a lot of people have been comparing you to your mother since you found out about her?"

"Yeah…but I don't even know who she was or what she was like." Via shook her head, eyes darting to the ground.

"Yeah well, whatever she was, I didn't hire her. I hired _you_ " Tony reached out to poke her forehead lightly "And I did that because I could tell when I met you that you were different. Your smart, tough. You don't take opportunities for granted. You see stuff as it is, not how you want it and you call it out. That takes guts."

"Or insanity" Via snorted.

"Well, you know what Plato said, all great minds are a bit crazy" Tony snorted and Via rolled her eyes.

"Actually, old man, it's Aristotle and he said: 'No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.' If you're going to quote the dead at least get it right"

"There see! That's what I'm talking about. That spunk right there." Tony's grin returned full force, though inwardly he wondered how this girl could quote Aristotle. Then he remembered all those books in that study back at her home.

 _Who'd have thought little toughie here would be such a book worm. Okay, memo to self, remind Jarvis to give her access to the library._

"Right" He clapped his hands together. "now, come on, let's get back downstairs. I've finished your orientation, but we still don't know much of your magic hocus pocus you do. So, if you wouldn't mind, I don't know, delivering a crash course that would be great. Or not, we could do it tomorrow if you want" he added quickly.

"no pressure huh?" Via scowled rolling her eyes "I guess I could explain the basics…"

"That's fine kid, the basics is all we need right now. Just take things at your own pace. Who knows you might be faster than you think." He winked and Via rolled her eyes, though he was quick to see the fear and irritation in her eyes fade ever so slightly as they walked out the door.

* * *

 _So, there I was, about to give an Introduction to Magic 101 to some of the most powerful people on the planet._

 _I must admit my talk with Tony helped a lot. He acts like an overgrown child half the time, but beneath that he's actually more mature and sharp than people think._

 _However, I just could not shake off that uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach. I wasn't sure what it was, but ever since that first jolt in the mystic forces I knew that something was going to go wrong._

 _After all when has my life ever been easy?_

* * *

The whirring of sparks flying filled the ears of the two figures that strode down the dark concrete stairs and through a door.

One was a tall dark man, the other a tall but young teenage boy who kept his head bent down as he respectfully followed his elder through the garage workshop.

Both were wearing dark hooded sweaters over casual jeans and boots. The hoods both pulled up to hide the top halves of their faces in shadow as they wound their way through heavy equipment and boxes in the half-light cast by the blow torch somewhere towards the wall farthest from the door.

There in front of a workbench, the silhouette of a person stood hunched over something in hidden by his body.

The dark man in the hood looked back to his young charge and put a hand to stop him before he could follow any further.

But even as the dark man made to move forwards, the man at the bench turned around to face him, squinting in the half light.

"Can I help you?"

"I carried you into Kamar-Taj on a stretcher. And look at you now Pangborn" the dark man said softly.

"Mordo" Pangborn breathed as, the man, Mordo stepped into the light. Behind him, the young boy shifted slightly.

"My apprentice." Mordo said softly in answer to Pangborn's silent query as he turned back to his work.

"So, what can I do for you man?"

"I've been away for many months now and I've had a revelation" Mordo said pulling back his hood to reveal his stricken face "The true purpose of the sorcerer…is to _twist_ things out of their proper shape.-"

Pangborn stiffened, his hand quietly reaching out and gripping onto small crowbar tight in a fist. It might not be much but if he could at least have the element of surprise…

Mordo kept his eyes trained on Pangborn as he continued speaking

"-stealing power. Perverting nature. Like you."

"I've stolen nothing" Pangborn shrugged, though his eyes were hard and cold "This is my power mine"

The gleam in Mordo's eyes was now a dark flame that grew as he hissed.

"Power, has a purpose"

 _NOW!_

Pangborn raised his armed hand in a swift swing, but his opponent was too quick for him.

Faster than lighting, Mordo dodged ducked and swooped in, a dark spell coating his hand as he struck it against the other man's core.

Pangborn gasped, rasping and spluttering as he felt something warm and strong leak from his body. It was like he was bleeding, only there was no cut, and the pain was not localized. Instead his whole body contorted in on itself, bones twisting and fracturing, muscles and ligaments ripping themselves back apart.

With a cry he fell to the floor, clutching desperately at the lower half of his body as the pain was quickly replaced by a horrible nothingness.

"Why…Why are you doing this?" He gasped fear making his heart and blood turn to ice in his veins.

"Because we at last can see what was wrong with the world" Mordo whispered as he towered over the terrified man. "Too many sorcerers. Cassian!"

He stood back, the gleam in his eyes bright and unnerving as he gestured towards his apprentice who finally stepped out of the shadows.

He was a handsome boy, with a light olive skinned statuesque face framed by dark brown locks and warm brown eyes. But there was something about him that made Pangborn tremble with fear as the boy raised a silver clawed hand.

And sliced down hard.

* * *

"Uh…hi again" Via gulped as she stood in front of all the Avengers and their friends, including Sam and Rhodey. Even Pepper Potts was sitting in, interested in the They were all in the conference room. A large room with a large metal table set with many chairs.

Via stood at the large window that looked down over the city and the tarmac for the large strange quin-jets that glinted in the afternoon sun.

Sucking in a deep breath to steel herself, she tightened her pony tail and cleared her throat:

"Right so. As you guys all know I'm Via, and I'm a…uh…sorcerer in training and well I guess today I'm supposed to be telling you guys all about the stuff I'm going to be helping you with."

She nervously looked around at all the expectant adult faces.

 _Jesus Christ I must sound like a third grader._

She thought but then shook her head slightly as she continued.

"As a sorcerer I deal with magic, also known as _the mystic arts._ In a nutshell what we do is we bend the laws of reality, matter and space in order to protect the Earth from threats of the more mystical kind, basically stuff that normal humans cannot see like deities, dark magic, other rogue practitioners of the mystic arts, magical creatures from other realms Demons-"

"Demons?" Sam raised his eyebrows, and Steve scowled, but Via just waved it down.

"No-no it's okay. Um…I guess it does sound a little crazy huh?"

"Kid we've faced an army from outer space. I think we're the last people to call anyone crazy" Clint smirked and everyone chuckled softly.

"Trust me Clint…aliens are the least of your worries, as I'm sure Thor can tell you. Thor" She turned to the Thunder god "As an Asgardian, you must've faced a fair few dangerous enemies well versed in the mystic arts."

"Indeed I have Young One." Thor nodded with a small proud grin "Though I have yet to encounter a dark sorcerer of Midgardian origins in recent days."

"Oh don't worry, there's still plenty of those around, I should know. I've fought some." Via rolled her eyes as she turned to face the window, holding up a finger.

At once her fingertip started to glow, a sight that made Pepper, Rhodey and Sam's eyes bulge out of their sockets as she began to draw in the air in front of the glass: Introduction to Magic 101.

Tony snorted as she turned back to them hands on her hips.

"Right, now. First question you guys are probably asking is what is magic? Well magic is the utilization of the energies around us to shape reality. According to ancient records, the first practitioners of the mystic arts have been thought to have been taught how to manipulate mystic energy by otherworldly beings like Asgardians. For a few millennia human sorcerers lived among normal humans quite harmoniously up till the time of the first witch hunts of the early fifteenth century in Europe. During that time, most of the sorcerers of the western world went into hiding, or fled to other parts of the world to seek refuge with other sorcerers, thus spreading their knowledge and practices. Eventually many sorcerers were united by an immortal sorcerer from another realm called Agamotto who founded the Order of the Mystic Arts. For many centuries the order of the mystic arts has protected the earth, defeating enemies, destroying threats and finding and protecting certain magical objects from the hands of those who'd use them for their own destructive means. We call these objects Relics, and as you all probably know by now, the people who find them are called Relic Hunters…which is what I'm supposed to be helping you with."

"Nice history lesson, but how does this relate to finding Loki's Sceptre?" Tony asked bluntly, ignoring Pepper's small disapproving glare beside him.

However, Via just smirked.

"And here I thought old men had patience"

Rhodey, Clint and Sam all snorted from their chairs only to be silenced by Natasha's cough.

"Go on" the spy nodded to the girl who smiled gratefully as she looked up to the ceiling.

"Uh Jarvis?"

"Yes, Miss Summers" Jarvis spoke politely as always.

"You do those glowy 3D picture things right?"

"I assume you're referring to my Holographic interface?" Jarvis cordially suggested.

"Yeah that. Uh is it possible for you to bring up some model or something of a cross section of the earth."

"Of course, miss" Jarvis said and just as his sentence ended a large holographic image appeared in front of Via.

It was, as she had asked for, a cross section of the earth complete with labels and rings around the outside to symbolize the different layers of the atmosphere.

"Okay, that is seriously cool" she pointed and everyone else just grinned amusedly as she shook her head out to snap back into focus.

"Uh-right. Now where was I? Ancient Sorcerers, order of the mystic arts-oh yes! The earth. Now you guys know that the Earth is made up of layers both above and below its surface. When it comes down to the mystic arts, the Earth is made of slightly different layers. There are two main one's you guys are probably going to be dealing with the most. The physical world-aka here where we are talking right now-"

She pointed to the earth's crust.

"-And the Astral dimension. Where the human soul can exist outside of the body." She pointed to the lowest level of the atmosphere.

"There's a whole bunch of other Dimensions out there that I'll tell you about later like the mirror dimension and the dream dimension-"

"Dream Dimension?" Bruce blinked. "As in-"

"As in the embodiment of all living beings subconscious thought in the universe, yes it exists." Via rolled her eyes.

"O…Kay?" Bruce frowned at everyone else. Everyone else just shrugged completely nonplussed as the girl continued her lesson.

"Don't worry you guys hopefully won't have to worry about the Dream Dimension. trust me that place is trippier than a Dali painting on crack. No it's most likely gonna be the physical and astral dimensions for you guys, because that's where most of the action's gonna happen. Now many millennia ago when Agamotto came into power he had a great battle with an entity from a place called the Dark Dimension. His name was Dormammu."

"I've heard that name before" Thor muttered softly much to everyone's surprise "a powerful being from the darkness that could manipulate all matter at will. But even to Asgardians he is but a myth."

"Yeah well…he's no myth" Via muttered her tone dark, blue eyes cold and haunted as the attention all turned back to her but she ignored it as she steamrolled over a few open mouths.

"Anyways! Long story short, Agamotto and Dormammu fought it out here on Earth and in the process caused a lot of damage, which caused big cracks throughout the universe. From these cracks magic leaked out onto Earth and humans were exposed to mystic energies for the first time. With help from the new human sorcerers Agamotto won the battle, but had to find a way to seal these large magical fractures before Earth became over exposed."

"Did he succeed?" Pepper asked leaning forwards interestedly.

"Yes and no" Via shook her head. "You see he managed to seal over the three biggest cracks by creating the three Sanctum Sanctorums. There's one here in New York. One in London and the last is in Hong Kong. However, there are still rather huge fractures left in the fabric of the universe that still let magical energy leak through"

"And you sorcerers have to find them and shut the leaks down?" Steve asked and Via nodded.

"Yeah but it can be difficult to keep track of. You see magical energy kinda moves constantly around us, often collecting and dispersing naturally. However, magical energy attracts more magical energy so if there's too much of it in one spot it can be quite damaging to the physical world."

"Sounds a lot like radiation when you put it like that" Bruce muttered and Via shrugged.

"In a way it kinda is. Which is why it needs to be managed in secret. Jarvis can you bring up a full model of the Earth please?"

Jarvis was quick to fill in the half globe so that it now spun slowly in front of Via who pushed it out experimentally, pleased when it floated over to hover over the table. Then with a flick of her hand, a stream of thin lines of golden light flew out to crisscross over the globes surface.

"And what are these supposed to be? The magical streams?" Tony grunted as he tried to follow each of the bright lines.

"Yeah, but they're actually called Ley Lines."

"Ley lines? Of course" Rhodey rubbed his temple, this was getting a bit too far fetched even for him.

"Yeah I know my life is weird" Via rolled her eyes "but whatever, these ley lines are lines of mystical energy that go over the earth. Now these aren't really the ley lines, these are just- um- a simulation if you will. Most humans can sense them unconsciously but don't really notice them where as us Sorcerers have to use our sixth sense to find them in the Astral dimension. But what's most important is that Relics of great power are drawn to these lines-"

"So what are you saying that Loki's Scepter will be somewhere along one of these lines?" Clint asked and Via nodded.

"Most likely. Even if it's being held by humans, the sceptre will ultimately find its way back to one of these lines and follow it to its source because-"

"Magical energies attract other magical energies" Thor breathed in wonderment and Via sighed.

"Yes. Which brings us to our very BIG problem-"

"Where are these lines and which one do we follow?" Tony finished for her.

"Exactly" Via puffed, as she looked around at them all.

They were all staring at her in silence, some with bewilderment, some in awe, some in absolute confusion…

It was Rhodey who spoke, frowning slightly as he looked her up and down in absolute confusion.

"I'm sorry but how old are you kid?"

"Fourteen" Via folded her arms.

"And how long have you been doing this?"

"Well technically I've been hired by you guys since Thursday, and today is my first day on the job. But if you're asking how long I've been a sorcerer for…well then I guess…nine or ten months, maybe a little more."

"Ten months?! You hired a fourteen year old with ten months of-" Rhodey cried out but Tony steamrolled over him loudly.

"It's fine Rhodey. She's just going to be working here with us in the tower, we're not going to take her out into the field unless it's absolutely necessary…if at all." he added with a reassuring glance at a worried Pepper. "and even if I do have to go out into the field, she can only do so if her guard dog Strange allows it. Isn't that right kid?"

 _Oh for heavens sake! Enough with the kid crap already?_

"Yeah, it's in the contract you sent yesterday" Via rolled her eyes. "Listen I know I'm not exactly the person you all had in mind for the job. I'm stubborn, I'm rude, I'm weird, I don't really have much of a filter for my mouth and I'm not a master sorcerer like my mom or Stephen… but I learn fast and I work hard and I guarantee you won't find any other sorcerer who'll give their all to find this sceptre as much as I will. So yeah, I'm a kid, but I don't take bullshit. So if any of you still have a problem with my age, suck it up and deal 'cause you're stuck with me."

All the adults in the room stared in astonishment at the girl as she folded her arms and leaned back against the window with narrowed eyes, the challenge there in every fibre of her being.

Apart from Tony who was smirking wider than ever, only Pepper could look Via in the eye as she assessed her head to toe.

When her boyfriend had told her that he was going to hire a teenager to help them find Loki's Sceptre she had perhaps been the most worried and had literally yelled _NO_ at him. It had not helped to ease her conscious one bit when she heard Stephen Strange had given his permission for the go ahead on the deal.

Had the girl been closer to seventeen, Pepper might have been a little more understanding. After all, seventeen was far closer to an adult in most countries around the world. But even as she considered the young girl's eyes she didn't see a nervous stuttering intern on her first day at work, but a strong determined woman far older and wearier than she appeared.

 _She's had to grow up so fast she's never had time to enjoy being a kid…_

Pepper's gaze softened sadly as she took in the clothes the girl wore. It wasn't as if they were bad, far from it the girl looked smart. She was already so clean, practical and professional, more so then some of the adults in the room right now.

And speaking of said adults…

 _So…this is why you really wanted the kid around…_

Pepper exchanged a glance with Tony, who inclined his head in a very slight nod as if confirming her suspicions and was about to open his mouth when Clint turned to face him with a wide grin.

"Can we keep her?"

* * *

"Master Mordo-"

"I know Cassian, now quickly through the portal" Mordo hissed as he quickly summoned up a sparking circle of a fiery portal into the wall of the workshop.

He wasn't sure what was going on above their heads in the city, but they were sure that whatever it was, was immensely powerful.

He chanced a glance back at the dead body of Pangborn which lay sprawled and twisted unnaturally by a couple of sacks and weights on the floor. Blood was oozing from a gaping hole in his gut where he'd been stabbed.

Despite himself, Mordo couldn't help but feel a little guilty for not being able to at least place the body at rest, but they had no time. The powerful entity above them was far too close for comfort and he and his apprentice needed to move fast if they wanted to avoid bumping into it, especially if it was a member of the Order of the Mystic Arts.

Had the once great master even bothered to glance out of one of the workshops small windows he would've known that it wasn't the case.

And so Mordo missed the pair of black booted feet running down the darkening street outside, their owner glancing back in terror as it was pursued by something large and dark into a dead end.

The man wheeled around, his brown eyes widening in fear, his salt and brown pepper bearded chin gaping in horror as a blast of white hot light shot directly at him.

There was a flash of violent light, a loud yelp and a heavy thud.

* * *

"Y'know the car's nice and all but I'm really okay getting home on my own. Trust me I know nearly all the streets and back alleys of this city off by heart." Via said only for Tony to wave her off from the drivers seat of his expensive orange sports car.

"Oh I don't doubt it kid. And don't worry, it isn't usually company practice for the boss to drive the interns home in the magic school bus, but I wanted to talk to Strange in person about a couple of things. Also I did promise him that I'd do whatever it took to keep you out of harm's way so until we've got the sceptre Happy or Hill will come and pick you up. "

"God, how many times can I say this, I can look after myself just fine" Via grumbled under her breath.

"Wow, you really aren't used to people doing nice things for you are you?" Tony quirked a brow.

"Well no" Via admitted softly as she glanced out her window "I mean…yeah when I was on the streets some people did offer to give me nice stuff if I did _nice_ things for them, and yes I do mean sex stuff."

"Seriously?! But you were what nine-ten years old-" Tony spluttered in disgust.

"Twelve" Via corrected him waspishly. "But yeah. I was blonde, I was tall for my age, I'd just hit puberty. I mean I didn't do any of that stuff but there are still a lot of sickos out there who tried their luck-"

"Jesus" Tony shook his head as the light turned green.

"Yeah, my life sucked." Via shrugged "but whatever. I'm here now, doing what I do…so…maybe it was for the best."

"Well if it's any consolation you did win over more than half my team today. So obviously you did something right." Tony smirked as he caught sight of the tall strange building on Bleeker street that was the girl's home.

"Well here's our stop. I'll just park it here"

The car pulled over to the curb and the billionaire and the young girl both hopped out, the latter shouldering her small leather backpack with a swish of her golden ponytail.

Tony watched her as she quickly walked ahead towards the front door of her home, frowning a little as her hand ghosted over her wrists. She was a far cry from the nervous child that he had first seen that morning. Instead she looked wary and ready to fight.

"Everything okay?" he asked as he strode up the stairs behind her.

"Yeah…it's just…thought I felt something…" she paused quietly running a hand over the large door knocker.

"Hmm…probably just Stephen practicing or something" she muttered but nonetheless turned the key in the lock and pressed open the door.

The first thing that hit her ears was the sound of soft feminine laughter and Stephen's deep chuckles.

"Stephen?" Via called as she walked cautiously through the door and into the front hall.

Stephen Strange was standing there in his blue robes and red cape, alongside a very pretty tall slender woman in a black skirt suit set. She had lovely long deep ash blonde waves and very light grey eyes that seemed to pierce straight through Via as she met the gaze.

For some reason, the young sorceress couldn't fathom, the woman looked…oddly familiar.

"Oh Olivia there you are!" Stephen smiled only for it to falter as he caught sight of Tony Stark standing just behind. "And Stark what a pleasant surprise"

"Just thought I'd drop in and have a chat. Give you an update on your ward's first day at work. And speaking of _very_ lovely ladies, you are?" Tony held out hand to the strange woman, eyeing her up and down.

Via couldn't blame him. Sure, Tony Stark was remarkably faithful to Pepper Potts, but this woman whoever she was, was a bombshell. Even Via couldn't help but eye her long shapely legs in their tight skirt and short heels, as they transported the woman in three smooth steps towards the billionaire.

"Susanna Ericson, I'm Doctor Strange and Miss Summers social worker. And I know you must get this all the time but it's a pleasure to meet you face to face mister Stark. Big fan."

"Oh please call me Tony. Everyone does, well except this one here" Tony smirked to Via who just smirked back.

"Sorry, can't help myself old man."

"I take it that you must be the famous Olivia Summers I've been hearing so much about." Susanna chuckled reaching out to shake her hand. "It's lovely to finally meet you at last."

"You as well." Via shook the hand politely smiling, though Tony and Stephen could see that it didn't quite meet her slightly wary eyes.

"So Stark what can we do for you today?" Stephen pointedly looked at Tony who smirked.

"Actually Strange I was just wondering if I could talk to you for five minutes"

"Of course right this way. We'll just be a second." Stephen smiled at Susanna and Via was alarmed to see he too was looking her up and down appreciatively as he and Tony walked over to the other side of the hall.

 _Well…I guess he hasn't gotten any action for the past year. Plus he and Christine aren't' together anymore…_

Via reasoned to herself.

If Susanna noticed any of the male attention she either didn't show it or didn't care as she turned to at Via who folded her hands behind her back to hide the slight glowing of Asmund and Brynja. She wasn't sure why, but both dragons were growling slightly in her head.

"So Via, Stephen tells me you're working with the Avengers. That must be so awesome huh?" Susanna smiled pleasantly.

"Yeah, super awesome. B-but I'm just as a gofer. Y'know, go for this go for that." Via smiled back as sweetly as she could. "So you're our Social Worker? I thought you weren't coming in till next week?"

"Oh this is unofficial, out of office hours so to speak." Susanna replied quickly without missing a beat "I always like to meet and greet my charges before we start the adoption process. That way we waste less time at our meetings going through all the pleasantries."

"That's smart" Via nodded "So Susanna, it's cool if I call you Susanna right?"

"Absolutely!" Susanna smiled, but Via could tell the woman looked slightly taken aback. Obviously, she wasn't expecting Via to be so bubbly or friendly.

 _Good, don't want her on my back as a troubled case just yet._

Via thought as she said oh so happily.

"Cool, because I have to say that's a really cute suit you're wearing."

"Oh this old thing?" Susanna smiled "I've had it for years. Can't really afford much on my salary."

"Well you know what they say, if it ain't broke don't fix it" Via chirruped and Susanna giggled, but to Via's ears the voice sounded ever so slightly strained.

 _Obviously because I wasn't being funny at all._

Via forced a giggle of her own as Stephen and Tony came walking back towards them. Tony was looking smug, but Stephen chanced a confused glance to his ward.

"Well look at you. I turn my back for two seconds and you two are getting along like a house on fire." He quirked a brow at Via who smiled, though her eyes were deadly as she dared him to break her cover.

"What can I say I guess I'm still pumped from an awesome first day at work!"

"Keep up the good work kid because you're going to need the energy tomorrow" Tony reached out and ruffled her hair, not noticing the exchange between master and apprentice.

"Oh jesus is that the time?!" Susanna gasped as she checked her watch, "Well I guess I'm off." It was lovely to meet you Olivia, Stephen"

"A pleasure Susanna. Would you like me to get you a cab?" Stephen offered only to get steamrolled over by Tony who waved him off much to his irritation.

"Forget a cab, I've got my car outside if you want a lift."

"Oh, no thank you so much but I've already got my car parked outside" Susanna smiled holding up her own pair of keys amusedly.

"Better luck next time" Via snorted under her breath as both men deflated, their eyes fixed on Susanna's back as she turned and waved at them while exiting the front door.

As soon as it had shut Tony turned to Stephen.

"Right so I guess I've got to dash too. Got a date with Pepper this evening and I don't want to be late. Via remember Happy will bring the car around tomorrow eight thirty sharp, so be ready."

"Got it" Via smirked and quickly added "Old man"

"Sassy kid" Tony scowled as he turned away, but even as he reached the door he turned back to glance at her and the corners of his mouth were twitching upwards with amusement.

The door shut behind him, leaving Via and Stephen alone in the front hall.

"So…good first day?" the Doctor turned to his charge who shrugged.

"Yeah. I guess."

"Stark said his team liked you a lot" Stephen smirked and Via gulped.

"Oh…he did?"

"Yeah, said they were impressed by your guts. Apparently, you told them all to grow balls and deal with the fact you were a kid straight to their faces."

"Well some of them were still hung up about it-" Via began only to be stopped as Stephen patted her shoulder gently as he steered her back towards the staircase behind them.

"I'm not mad Via, trust me. You've every right to stand up for yourself. Besides if they can't deal with one kid then they really need to work on their hero skills. And speaking of skills, did you really spar against Natasha Romanoff?"

"Yeah," Via smiled, the first real smile he'd seen since she'd walked through the door "It was awesome. I mean yeah sure she went easy on me because I'm a kid and she's one of the world's best assassins but it was so cool-"

 _Ah…good there you are._

Stephen sighed in relief as Via began to prattle on and on about her match with the Black Widow. He'd been worried when he'd seen her and Susanna talking. Via was always on her guard around strangers, so to see her acting super bubbly and friendly like that was unnerving.

 _It's probably because she's nervous about this adoption._

He reasoned in his head as he let her continue to describe the other Avengers in detail.

 _She doesn't want to be sent back to that orphanage so she's putting on a façade to hide her anxiety._

Well, he couldn't blame her for not wanting to go back to that place. Every time she spoke about it he got the shivers. How she could've survived in such a horrible place was beyond his understanding, never mind the fact of how she'd ever managed to be put in such a position in the first place.

"Stephen? Doc? You okay?" Via's voice snapped him out of his reverie.

They were in the kitchen, he was sitting at the island in the middle and she was at the fridge, eyeing him oddly as she pulled out some milk.

"Sorry Olivia got distracted. What was you were saying?" he smiled and Via rolled her eyes.

"I was asking where Wong was, but I'm guessing that he's probably at Kamar Taj given how relaxed you look without him."

"Yeah, he went to teach a class for some new acolytes. So it will just be you and me for dinner"

"You sound disappointed. Let me guess, you wanted a dinner date with Miss daddy long legs downstairs?" Via smirked, laughing as Stephen spluttered on his glass of water.

"Excuse me?!"

"Oh relax Doc I'm just teasing." Via smirked as she poured her own milk into a mug. Yet there was something about the look in her eyes that worried him still.

"You didn't like her that much did you?" He murmured.

"I don't really feel anything about her to be honest" she took a swig of her cup of milk. "After all I only just met the woman-"

"Olivia, you and I both know you don't make happy small talk with everyone you meet first time." Stephen raised a brow and Via rolled her eyes.

"Okay fine. You got me. I don't like her. She just looks as if she's hiding something and It's just…I don't know…I don't want to screw this adoption up. So, if that means I have to fake smile every few weeks till the papers are signed, I'll do it okay."

"Okay…I just want to be sure" Stephen assured her as he leaned forwards and snatched a landline from the wall.

Via did a double take.

"Wait, since when was that there?" she gaped at the contraption with wide eyes.

"Wong and I installed a new landline system in the building as well as setup the wifi. Now give me a moment, I'll get us some takeaway"

"Seriously you and your takeaway." Via rolled her eyes "Why don't we cook something? I'm sure there's plenty of stuff to cook in here"

"Because unlike Wong I suck at cooking. Always have and I always will. Why? Do you know how to cook?" Stephen frowned at Via who rolled her eyes.

"Uh, yeah…well I know how to do sandwiches, eggs, bacon and toast with tomato. But I'm sure I could fix something else up easily if I had a recipe." Via pulled the phone away from Stephen's ear "Come on! I'm sick of take-away. Wong's not here to boss us around, we've got a house with a kitchen, and a library downstairs full of cookbooks. We shouldn't waste this opportunity!"

"Wow you really are excited about this" Stephen grumbled softly as the phone was put back on the wall reciever "Fine, I'll find a simple recipe on my tablet and if you can cook it without burning down this house, we'll eat it. But if it gets burnt even one iota I get take-away. Agreed?"

"Agreed. Oh and forget the tablet, I've got something better" Via grinned pulling out her new phone.

"One of Stark's inventions?" Steve rolled his eyes and Via smirked as she turned it on.

"Uh-huh! Watch this. Hey Aura!"

"Hello Via, is there something I can do for you." the computerized female British voice suddenly spoke.

"What the hell?!" Stephen literally jumped out of his chair, the cloak of levitation also jumping off his shoulders in its shock.

"Stephen meet Aura. The AI in my phone. Aura this is my guardian Doctor Stephen Strange"

"Hello Doctor Strange. It's nice to meet you." Aura spoke candidly, and Via giggled as said doctor slowly sat himself back down on his chair, eyeing the phone with a hilarious mixture of fear and bewilderment.

"Uh Hello…Aura… nice to meet you too" He turned to Via and was only able to splutter. "Why does your phone sound like Julie Andrews?"

"Dunno, but I like it. Say Aura" Via spoke up, as she pulled out some pasta from the small cupboard by her knees. "Could you look up some easy pasta recipes"

"Of course Via. Are there any particular ingredients you'd like to include in the recipe?"

"Uh…dunno. Maybe something vegetarian? I mean we have a lot of greens in here, oh cool we've got basil!" Via considered the contents of the fridge.

"There is a very simple Basil pesto Pasta recipe." Aura offered and Via beamed.

"Perfect, let's see"

Stephen glanced towards his crimson cloak which floated up towards one of the shelves, using its hem to help grab the ingredients Aura was listing for Via to take out.

"Oh thank you Levi" she smiled stroking the top of the cloak in thanks and Stephen rolled his eyes again.

"Levi? Seriously?"

"Yeah, like cloak of levi-tation" Via snorted as she quickly picked out a pot and filled it with water.

 _Good grief what have I unleashed?_

Stephen leaned back in his seat watching Via as she bustled around the kitchen preparing dinner, occasionally checking in with Aura who spoke in that gentle voice.

"Once the water is at the boil, add the pasta and wait for roughly eight to twelve minutes." The AI instructed as Via quickly cut open the packaged pasta with scissors, smiling widely.

It was the happiest he'd ever seen her since the battle with Kaesilius. She was almost glowing from the tips of her toes to the roots of her golden hair. If anybody met her right now they'd never once think that this was a sorceress in training, or a girl off the street. Right now, she looked about as happy as any normal teenager her age should.

 _Wong's right…She'll be fine. I've nothing to worry about._

Stephen's gaze softened as he quietly stood up and reached down to a lower cupboard to find a dish for her to serve and plates for them to eat from. He could've done it easily with magic, but there was something so warmly familiar about setting the table for dinner, that he'd not felt in a long while.

Now that he thought about it, he hadn't had a home cooked meal like this since his teen years. True Wong often cooked for them all in the mornings and afternoons, but there was something about the way Via was cooking that brought back all those memories-

"HAHA! Eureka!" she cried out with a wide grin as she turned off the stove and tasted her pesto creation.

But Stephen did not see Via. Instead he saw a girl with short jet-black hair and eyes very like his own, grinning smugly at him.

 _Donna…_

But then the moment quickly vanished as the Cloak of Levitation swiftly snagged some forks and placed them beside their plates as Via set the large bowl of hot, delicious smelling pasta in the middle of the island.

"Come on Doc! Let's see if you're precious take-out can match this!"

It couldn't.

* * *

 **AND WHEW! the chapter is finished.**

 **12,000 words! that's 2,000 over my limit but by god i couldn't stop typing. it was like my fingers were possessed.**

 **But anyways here is the end of Via's first day with the Avengers. I figured she'd get off to a rocky start considering her age but meh. they'll get over it. that being said i loved playing with the relationship between Via and Natasha, especially since Via's a spider sorceress and Natasha's the Black widow. and speaking of Spiders, YES Via will meet MCU Spider-Man at some point in this fic, though i won't say how because that would just be a HUGE spoiler at this point in time ;)**

 **So yeah we've got Aura, Via's AI in her phone. and the only reason i wanted Aura to sound like Julie Andrews is because i just love the sound of her voice, singing or speaking and if i were to have an AI in real life I would definitely want it to speak with her voice. XD**

 **BTW, most of the stuff about magic i put up there is just my own gimcrack mixed in with a very light researching into the MCU's take on magic so if it seems farfetched and stupid, just skip over it and ignore it.**

 **So yeah, hope you all enjoyed and keep reviewing with feedback for more.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Who let the Dogs out**

The man with the dark scraggly hair and thick winter gear, shifted his cap on his head as he walked through Bleeker Street.

He didn't know why he was there or what he was doing. He'd decided this would be his last day in New York before he had to leave the country, he could've gone anywhere he wanted. But no. For some peculiar reason, he'd decided to stalk down this street and keep watch on the tall building with the weird circular window at the top.

He looked up at it curiously, admiring the four curves that crisscrossed over the top of it.

It was an odd building to be sure, for it was far older than most of the other buildings on the street.

 _I should get a move on._

But as he made to turn away, something old caught the corner of his eye.

Looking back he was astonished to see someone standing by the circular window, looking down.

He froze.

It was her. It was the girl he'd seen at central park. The girl he had saved from those pathetic excuses for human beings.

But she was dressed differently. Her golden locks were tied back and she was wearing a strange blue coat over black pants with a golden belt.

She looked rather calm and stoic as she watched the street below, blue eyes tracing the footsteps of all who passed her domain with a shrewdness that beyond what a normal teenager should have.

The man marvelled at this as he drank in as much detail of her as he could from his position…that was until her blue eyes met his.

 _Shit!_

He swore as he saw her eyes widen with recognition and her body back away from the window.

Quickly he scrambled away dashing past a couple of people with their shopping till he turned into the alleyway beside the strange building peering around the edge of a leaning wooden crate as the front door opened. He quickly slid back as her foot stepped through, catching a glimpse of her anxious face.

Yes it was her. It was her. And yet something was different…more mature.

"Olivia! Olivia what's going on? Who's there?" a voice called from within the building loudly and the girl turned around to face someone inside.

"No one Doc, just picking up the post" she called as she turned to face an old delivery man who strode up to her.

"Ah, good morning Olivia" he smiled "and how are you this fine lovely morning?"

"Good Morning Mister Lee. I'm fine thanks. And yourself" the girl smiled back, a warm expression that made the old man's cheeks blush a little.

"It's Stan to you dear, and I'm doing great!" the man, Stan winked at her much to her amusement as he pulled out a small parcel from his rucksack "here, I've got this here for you to sign for. It's from a mister…mister, Tony Stank?" he held up a brown paper wrapped package which the girl signed for giggling under her breath.

"Oh man I've got to remember that one. Thanks Stan" she called as the old man made to walk away back to the delivery van behind him.

"Any time sweetheart, any time. Come on Bruce, hit the gas, this post won't deliver itself. Excelsior!"

The girl giggled as she waved goodbye to the delivery man and his fellow driver as they sped up and drove away.

 _Olivia…_

The man around the corner watched her as the girl, still chuckling to herself, entered back into the building, his eyes fixed on her till the door shut and obscured her completely from view.

 _Her name is Olivia_.

He chanced another glance at the door only to wince as he felt the something sharp slice against his gloved hand.

Quickly he snapped it back, cursing at the sight that greeted him.

What had once been a whole black glove now had a slice from where a nail had snagged from the crate beside him.

"Damn" the man cursed as he slid the ruined glove off, revealing a gleaming silver hand.

* * *

 _And so there I was. One measly little teenage sorcerer in training, working with the Avengers._

 _It wasn't too bad. Most of the time I was working with Tony and Bruce in the lab. They were using the information about the Ley Lines I had given them to see if they could create a device that could sense them._

 _The Avengers resident science bros figured that if mystic energy acted like radiation, they might be able to find a way of sensing it on some invisible sci-fi mumbo jumbo spectrum or something…whatever the term is too technical for me to explain. Effectively it was mainly programming Jarvis, and my Aura, to recognize mystic energies so that if I or Thor (who is also sensitive to magic due to his Asgardian roots) aren't around, the team can at least pinpoint the general source of the energy._

 _We did this by having me practice spells in the middle of the workshop while Tony and Bruce configured different sensors and machines to pick up the energy readings it was producing._

 _I would've felt like a guinea pig had it not been for how chilled out and relaxed the two were. Bruce as it turned out loved putting the radio on softly in the background and hum as he worked. Tony liked to eat, and by eat, I mean that if he didn't have his hands on any mechanical instrument, he'd have them buried in a packet of some foodstuffs or something._

 _Where he hides the stash, I don't know because whenever I enter the room I cannot seem to find the source of those never-ending crinkling packets._

 _During those first few days I didn't really get much of a chance to work with any of the others, which was a shame. Ever since I'd sparred with Natasha I'd been itching to have a one on one training session with her._

 _I guess you could say that if I was to be a fan of any of the world's greatest heroes it would have to be the Black Widow. Not just because she's the only girl on the team, but because unlike the others, she is one of the few that I feel really understands that the world has more grey in it than it does black and white._

 _That didn't mean I didn't like the other members of the team…_

* * *

They were both lounging about the Avengers shared living room area, alone. Everyone else was either holed up having some alone time, or out attending to personal matters.

Via was sitting on the floor, a large tome set before her on the glass coffee table with a small notepad on her right and her phone Aura on her left.

Thor meanwhile was quietly pouring himself a tankard from the bar in the far corner.

At the sound of the gushing liquor Via quirked an eyebrow up at the thunder god.

"You're having beer? It's only eleven o clock"

"Midgardian alcohol has little effect on me, young one" Thor smiled warmly as he approached her. "What are you reading?"

"Records and reports" Via snorted as she looked back down to the yellowing pages of the large book "Any Relic Hunter responsible for tracking down relics in both North and South America has to write down a mission report at the New York Sanctum."

"And what do you hoping to find in these reports?" Thor sipped his tankard. "the sceptre as far as I know is not of Midgardian origin"

"I know." Via nodded as she flipped over a page "but I'm not looking for where the sceptre is. I'm looking for where it _won't_ be."

"Where it won't be?" the Asgardian frowned.

"Yeah well, we've got the whole world as a potential hiding spot for this thing. If we can't find out where the sceptre is, we can at least eliminate places it most likely won't be, because the Order will already have people keeping watch over those particular areas"

"Ah, you speak of the process of elimination. A smart move." Thor nodded smiling as Via looked down to the book, her face stained pink.

"It's nothing really. Just made sense to me is all" she swept her curls away from her eyes. "So what you doin' just chillin' here?"

"I suppose." Thor shrugged then suddenly he asked: "You said your master is your adoptive father-"

"Legal guardian" Via corrected him quickly. "F-For the moment. The adoption process is still underway. It'll be a while until the papers are finalized"

"I do not understand Midgardian customs" Thor sighed heavily taking another swig of beer. "All these papers and processes. It astounds me that a man like Master Strange must jump through hoops to legitimize you as his child, when it is so obvious that he is father to you in all but blood. There are many fathers out there and some of them are barely deserving of the roof over their heads let alone having the love of their birth children"

"Yeah, well…that's just us pesky humans I suppose. We just love our paperwork, hoops and stupid rules." Via grunted, more to herself than to anyone else.

"I meant no offence" he began quickly but was stopped by her loud snort.

"None taken I can assure you. Trust me big guy, if you knew what I knew about humans you wouldn't be so quick to apologise. If anything, I wouldn't blame you if you deemed us a plague. We certainly can be as disgusting as one at the worst of times."

"You speak of the necromancer you faced before" he murmured softly.

Via looked up, and quickly wished she hadn't, for the thunder god was looking at her with pity and something akin to sadness with those big bright blues of his.

"A man doesn't need magic to be a monster." She mumbled rubbing at Brynja's lightly glowing gold band on her wrist. "He can do just fine on his own"

Thor fell into silence, his eyes roving over the child's face. She appeared calm and stoic, as if detached from the horrors of which she spoke.

But he could see the ice of her gaze, the hardening in her jaw and the tenseness in her shoulders.

He sipped at his beer as he watched her slowly relax, her fingers vaguely moving in a small wavy flick as she magically searched the large tomes pages with one hand while the other transfigured a pencil into an eraser and back again.

He wanted to ask her more of what she meant. He had heard from Tony that she had been through a rough childhood, though you wouldn't think it if you looked at her now. She was a pretty maid, and would be prettier still when she came of age. Yet beneath those golden curls of hers was a brain, far sharper than most would anticipate. She was also diligent, hardworking, and determined to a fault.

If anything, she reminded him vaguely of a much younger-

"Loki…"

"Hmm?" Via blinked up at him owlishly and Thor shook his head.

"Forgive me. I was thinking aloud"

"About the sceptre?"

"Yes. It's as you said, not going to be easy to obtain. My brother might not have possession over it anymore, but it doesn't mean he might not have found a way to keep it hidden if he lost it"

"Of course, he would've" Via rolled her eyes in aggravation "What am I doing, I'm thinking about this all wrong. Loki's a master sorcerer and the god of mischief and cunning, of course he'd set up a failsafe for his favourite glow stick"

"Do not despair young one. I myself often underestimate my brother's intelligence. It is a crime I have paid most dearly for" he added softly.

"You must miss him" Via said, eyes softening as she beheld him. In his melancholy, he looked less a god and more like a lost boy. Via had seen the expression before many times in her stay at the orphanage as a child. It was the look most children had after being dumped there by the system. A look she had worn for so many years herself.

"Indeed, I do" Thor admitted quietly, not noticing her sympathetic stare. "Loki may have done a lot of wrong in the past few years, but despite all that he is and always shall be my brother. The one I grew up with, played with, fought alongside, jested with…"

"I'm sure he misses you too" Via tried but Thor shook his head.

"After the conflict between he and father, I doubt he sees me as anything more than a reminder of the pain he's endured."

He paused as he frowned up at her.

"You are not angered?"

"Angered?" Via quirked a brow "Why should I be angered?"

"Well…Loki was the one who attacked New York" Thor mumbled not quite meeting her eye "And your file said you fled to the streets soon after the Battle here-"

"I didn't leave the orphanage because of the battle" Via assured him firmly, feeling her stomach churn "I left because…because…because the matron and her man were finally sick of having me around. I figured if I was going to leave them I was going to do it on my terms"

"I see…" Thor murmured as he watched her quickly look back towards the books, avoiding his gaze now completely.

"Does it have to do with the man that was following you, that day we met?"

Via froze.

For a big supposedly goofy guy, Thor was surprisingly shrewd. She was surprised he even remembered their meeting. As far as she was concerned that day she was just a random girl that he had bumped into.

"It may" She answered carefully, only to quickly cough "But don't worry. It was just a blast from the past nothing more. Besides, I'm with Stephen now so its unlikely I'll ever be seeing him again."

 _I hope_

She added in her head, though inside she could hear her Asmund growling at her.

 _You lied to the god? You lied to him like you lied to your master? My-my aren't you just weaving trouble for yourself little wyrm._

 _Shut up it's for the best!_

Via spat back mentally, just as Brynja's voice purred softly.

 _I agree with my brother, master. The strange man is dangerous. You shouldn't keep your master in the dark about this, he may be able to help-_

 _No! I can't afford to do that right now. The world needs a sorcerer supreme, and right now Stephen's the only candidate left for the position and that means he needs to be kept safe. To do that I need to keep him as far away from this guy because who knows what he might do…_

Via's thoughts were quickly quashed by the dramatic entrance of Sam and Steve, the latter of whom jogged in quite happily while the former was puffing and gasping for breath behind him, drenched with sweat.

"Hi boys, how was boot camp?" Via smirked as Sam glowered at Steve.

"Ask…him!" he gasped and Steve shrugged.

"I told you I was going to go fast-"

"I thought you meant normal people fast" Sam complained and Via giggled.

"Oh, how my heart bleeds for you. To be beaten by your best friend is one thing, but to be beaten by a ninety-year-old golden oldie is another."

"Y'know kid back in my day we showed respect to our _Golden Oldies_." Steve chuckled reaching over to ruffle the girl's wild curls. He looked up at Thor, who quickly covered his thoughtful expression with a hearty grin.

"We were just talking of the Sceptre. Lady Via was just explaining another possible alternative to narrow down its location"

"Oh Yeah? What is it?" Steve blinked as he handed a glass of water to Sam who chugged it down greedily.

"I'm tracking down all the places the Order of the Mystic Arts have been to where they've previously found Relics. It might take a while because most of it's not digitized, but at least we can narrow down some places they keep track of, and maybe even find the ley lines, if we can spot a pattern somewhere. I dunno, it's still early stages." Via shrugged as she stretched out her arms.

"Agh! Damn, I've been sitting still too long" She grunted as she heard the satisfying crack of her shoulders and stiff back.

"If you wish to exercise, you may use the training room." Jarvis piped in helpfully from the ceiling.

"Oh, okay sure that would be great Jarv, anyone else in there?"

"Not at this moment, miss,"

"Okay cool. Uh, I'll just pack this up." She quickly made to pack up the book.

"I'll come with you" Steve grunted as he too stretched out "Sam and I were gonna practice some sparring-"

"Like hell I'm sparring. I'm taking a shower" Sam puffed trudging back towards the door.

"If you want I could spar with you? Unless Golden Oldie is too afraid to take on a little girl?" Via smirked, sniggering as the Captain rolled his eyes with amusement.

"Oh yes I'm simply _quaking_ in my boots"

"I wouldn't underestimate this little one, friend" Thor chuckled setting aside his beer and standing up to walk with the two of them "You saw how she survived Natasha's challenge. Even friend Tony didn't last as long on his first bout with her."

"That's because the Old Man's not one for close combat" Via shrugged "He's got the guns but his reflexes aren't as good as they could be, at least without the suit"

"You noticed that?" Steve quirked a brow at the young girl. As far as he knew she'd only seen Tony wearing the suit once and that when he was finishing tuning the next model up.

"Cap, the entire city could notice it if they bothered to look closely enough" Via rolled her eyes "Yeah he knows how to throw a decent punch and a hook here and there, but Tony likes to take a step back to use his head. He's a strategist and a tinkerer more than a…a…"

"Warrior?" Thor suggested and Via nodded.

"Yeah…a bit of an archaic term but yeah."

"You really like fighting don't you?" Steve frowned.

"If you mean by fighting as in learning martial arts and different fighting styles from around the globe then yes, but if you're talking about fighting tooth and nail to survive, then my answer would be no." she bristled uncomfortably, doing her best to the ignore the irritating concern etched into his face.

He always had that look on his face whenever she mentioned something even remotely related to her less than perfect childhood. She knew he was a man out of time, knew that his old fashioned standards would find her situation deplorable. But surely there were other badly treated orphans back in his day?

She was glad when she reached the training room with them. It was empty just like Jarvis had said, but it was the first time since her orientation day that she'd been in here with someone.

Needless to say she was a little nervous. After all she was going to potentially train and spar with an Asgardian God and Captain America himself.

 _If the kids at the Orphanage could see me now they'd be flipping their shit!_

She smirked as she shed her sweater and straightened out her black leggings and red T-shirt. After orientation she'd started wearing far more casual clothes when at the tower. Not just because Tony demanded it (as there were more than enough suits walking his building in his opinion) but also because it made training and casting spells just that little bit more comfortable.

She and Steve warmed up and stretched out (much to Thor's great amusement), and were quick to set up a square holographic perimeter, about the size of a boxer's ring around them.

"Now try and stay within the lines" Steve called out and Via rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, I've sparred in squares much smaller than this" She said as she stepped into the ring, only to scowl as Steve stared at her fists.

"What?"

"You're not wearing gloves?" he asked, and then Via noticed he was halfway through putting on a pair of heavy looking boxer's gloves.

"Don't need them" she muttered flexing her hands "Too heavy, they'd slow me down. Now come on. Ditch them and let's spar."

"But if I hit you-"

"Then you hit me and I learn not to drop my guard again. That's what training is for. Now come on!" Via cracked her knuckles as she readied herself into a fighting stance.

"Such fire. This reminds me of the Lady Sif in her youth" Thor chuckled from the outside of the ring as Steve looked down to his fists.

"Fine. But I still don't like it" he muttered darkly as he quickly shed the gloves and tossed them to the side.

They both stood there, hands up readied in defence…but no one struck.

"Come on Cap. Before we both die of old age" Via snorted.

Steve sighed heavily.

"Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you"

And with that he lunged forwards.

 _She's fast for her kind._

Thor scratched his chin as he watched the young girl quickly dodge out of the way of the super soldier's arm and make to counter. Steve caught the attack with his own block, but still seemed surprised at her daring. He was quick to counter and get her into a lock. It wasn't painful. Indeed, Steve was utilizing the gentlest of his moves on the girl, for fear of his superior strength hurting her.

But yet again, as she'd proven with Natasha, Via Summers proved to be a surprising opponent. Instead of struggling against Steve's grip, she quickly slammed her bare heel into the top of his foot. While she'd barely make a dent in the soldier, she still managed to dig in hard into his toes forcing him to loosen his grip, and allowing her to throw him off her.

"Not bad." Steve winced as he regained his footing.

"Thanks. Now stop holding back. _Grandpa_ " Via's growled.

"Alright fine. You asked for it" Steve muttered, his smirk softening. She really was a scrappy little thing in a pinch.

He was quick to reach her but instead of punching her, he ducked and swept his foot out towards her legs. With a squeak, she jumped upwards just in time only to stumble back a little as she landed. Steve quickly caught her by the scruff of her T-shirt, only to bring her to the ground in a firm take down, that planted her face down on the ground. It wasn't a hard take down, indeed, Steve was very gentle and careful in his approach. But it was firm enough to show his young opponent he meant business.

"Ow" She winced as she rolled over onto her back.

"You okay?" Steve chuckled as he held out a hand to help her up.

"Oh, don't you worry about me gramps. I could do this all day" she smirked rubbing her jaw as she got to her feet, unaware of the slightly stunned look on Steve's face.

What she didn't see was that through his eyes he could see the scrawnier, skinnier, asthmatic version of his old self staring back at him from a dirty alleyway of 1930s Brooklyn.

Despite himself he felt the corners of his mouth twitch ever so slightly upwards as he said:

"I bet you can kid"

* * *

 _Yeah, there's nothing like a good old sparring session to kick start team bonding. Even if both teammates were going insanely easy on me. I suppose it makes sense. Steve's a super soldier with super strength and Thor's an Asgardian god (enough said)._

 _It was nice to see them both lower their barriers around me. Up till that point the two of them had been rather skittish about hanging out with me. Though that may have been because up till then Tony had been monopolising my time. Also I was the new kid on the block with unknown powers._

 _Even now Steve still has some reservations about sparring with me. I think he still sees me as a child and doesn't want to hurt me. Though his chivalry is kinda annoying at times, it's also kinda sweet. Thor likewise always treated me gently, but unlike Steve he seemed to understand that I could handle the knocks and wasn't made like glass._

 _He often said that I reminded him of his friend Sif, who's apparently this super awesome kickass Asgardian warrior chick. I've never met the woman but I can tell that if I did, I'd probably like her. Or at the very least I'd like to spar with her._

 _Yeah, I know I'm super weird._

 _So anyways, I was training with Steve and Thor and then Clint had to waltz in…_

* * *

"Hey, hey, hey. Now what have we got here?" Clint Barton grinned as he stared at the scene before him.

Via, Steve and Thor were all on the floor in an elbow plank. The super soldier and the Asgardian were both fine, but poor Via was sweating buckets as she struggled to remain up on her shaky limbs.

"Just…planking" she spluttered, cheeks flushing red as one of her ankles giving an almighty judder.

"I can see that. For how long?" Clint quirked a brow.

"It was supposed to be just two minutes, but we've managed to push it up to Seven" Steve shrugged as Thor grinned

"Yes. Lady Via has already surpassed her record of three minutes by four."

"I can still keep going" she wheezed as she sucked in a deep breath. Her core was positively burning now. How the other two men weren't even breaking a sweat was beyond her.

"Well as fun as it is watching you trying to out last these two tanks, I'm afraid you're gonna have to break your record some other time. Tony wants to talk to you" Clint smirked as at last, the girl suddenly collapsed on the training room floor.

"Careful" Steve tutted as her cheek slapped against the hard surface. "don't want to break something"

"Too late my spirit is already broken" Via moaned in relief as she felt the cold of the floor seep soothingly into her aching stomach.

The three men chuckled, Thor quickly and effortlessly sweeping her up to stand shakily on her feet.

"Uh-no Clint. Kitchen first! I'm hungry." she grumbled as her stomach gurgled, putting a finger up to stop Clint.

"Yeah that's where Tony wants to meet." he sniggered as he watched the kid stumble out of the training room.

It didn't take her long to reach the kitchen, where she found, Natasha, Bruce and Tony talking over the large metal island in the middle, each sipping at their coffee.

"Ah, and here's the girl of the hour!" Tony grinned as she trudged into the kitchen. "By the way nice going with the planking."

"Glad you enjoyed the show" Via deadpanned as she snagged herself a glass of water and drained it in three large gulps. "Clint said you wanted to talk"

"Yeah, two things I got lined up for you. First we've made the prototype of the sensor" Tony turned to Bruce and Via could see that the doctor had small puffy bags under his eyes.

"We were wondering if you'd be up for a little field testing"

"Right…and where would we be testing?" Via rasped as she made to pour herself more water.

"Central Park" Natasha clipped as she flicked her fingers over a tablet. "This afternoon. You and Bruce, will pick a quiet isolated spot in the park where you can practice your magic. Meanwhile, Thor, Tony, Steve, Clint, Sam and I will use the sensor to try and locate you"

"So pretty much we're going to the park to play hide and seek" Via snorted and Clint grinned.

"Think of it as an exercise in Stealth. After all it's not every day you get to hide from two of the best spies in the business." He pointed at Natasha who smirked lightly as she said:

"Wow, so humble"

"Okay, cool. Should I bring my stuff or can I pick it up" Via pointed back to the lounging area behind them where most of her gear was still strewn over the coffee table.

"Best pack all your stuff with you. I'll have Happy drop you home after we're done" Tony downed the last of his coffee and handed her his tablet. "Which brings me to point number two. Tomorrow at noon I've got a meeting with Norman Osborn-"

"The head of Oscorp?" Via flicked through the tablet's screen on which the profile of Norman Osborn was displayed.

"Yep. Him. He's a bit of a tool but I've still got to do business with him-"

"Okay…so…what does he have to do with my job?"

"I'm getting to that" Tony raised his eyebrows at her and she quickly shut her mouth. It astounded her sometimes just how stern he could get despite his usually childish behaviour.

"Project Weaver" he swiped at the screen in her hands, bringing up a rather blank file.

"Project Weaver? What's that?" Via blinked down at the screen.

"No idea. But considering the amount of radioactive materials that Oscorp has been buying and importing over the past few months, it's something big"

"Are you sure they're not building nukes or stuff?" Via frowned "I mean isn't that what most of you big boys do with tech companies?"

"Not always," Bruce piped in gently, over the top of Tony's bristling "I mean, yeah sure Stark industries _USED_ to build WMDs but since Tony made the Iron Man suit they've moved on to more green Energy."

"And what about Oscorp?"

"Yeah, they still make WMD's" Natasha muttered "However the production lines and design work is usually conducted in remote facilities away from large human populaces. The fact that they're bringing the material here into the city…" she trailed off but Via got the message loud and clear.

"So what you want me to sneak around Oscorp looking for clues?" she folded her arms at Tony who shrugged.

"I've already got Nat and Clint on that. No, I need you to do your job as an intern. Y'know, tag along, take notes, get coffee, the usual assistant gofer stuff."

Despite herself, Via couldn't help but deflate a little where she stood.

 _Keep it together girl, you've barely been with them for a week, give them time to trust you._

She sucked in a gulp of water to steady herself before she answered.

"Oh right got it. By the way thanks for the phone case." Via held up Aura, on which was now a dark blue leather phone case with a golden web design and a slot for cards

"Thought you'd like it" Tony smirked "I thought as that pal Wong of yours called you the Spider Sorceress-"

"The spider what?" Clint snorted into his orange juice.

"Spider Sorceress" Via explained with a shrug "It's the title for the person who uses this" she pulled out the Web of Asibikaashi from around her neck.

"Ah, so Thor was right, that dream catcher does have magic" Bruce's eyes widened in surprise as he beheld the small trinket.

"It's the token of the guardian of the Dream Dimension" Via explained "Created by the Spider Mother herself. It lets me go into the dream dimension and purify nightmares"

"Seriously?" Tony raised his eyebrows. "That little thing allows you to…"

He gestured wildly at his head.

"Sometimes" Via mumbled feeling her cheeks go pink "But I've only had it a few months…and I still barely know how to use all it's powers."

"So…how did you come to have it if it's so powerful?" Natasha asked carefully.

"It…it was given to me." Via gulped rubbing her temple as the memory of a few months ago flooded into her brain. It almost felt like a lifetime since that day…

…since Fala took her in…

…Since the ancient one saved her…

…Naela…

 _Damn it Via!_

She knew the Ancient One was dead…but Via had never anticipated how much it would hurt talking about her.

If any of the others caught onto her momentary lapse in composure they didn't show it.

"Well…that was illuminating. But back to the matter at hand" Tony coughed just as Thor and Steve came into the room. "Right, so we'll head to the park in an hour and then-"

"We play hide and seek Avengers style? Gotta say old man you really have some childish hobbies" Via smirked as the billionaire's face fell once more.

God how she loved hassling him.

* * *

 _And so that's how I ended up playing hide and seek with the Avengers in Central Park. Or as Tony liked to say, testing his new prototype mystic energy scanner._

 _Either way, I was hiding and the Avengers were doing all it took to find me._

 _I was with Bruce most of the time I was hiding, and I must admit he's cool. A bit quiet but cool. When most people meet him, they are a bit scared because they're afraid of the Other Guy. But really they've usually nothing to worry about if they approach him on a day to day basis._

 _He's knowledgeable too. Once we'd found a spot to remain hidden, he even volunteered to test me on my science homework Stephen had set for me (I told you he was really adamant about my education). He even managed to explain a few of the more advanced concepts to me that I had trouble understanding, and in general terms I could understand._

 _It's a shame people fear and distrust him so much. He'd really make a good teacher. That and he's really easy to talk to. Very calm and patient._

 _Of course at that point I'd not yet met the Other Guy, but still…I can't exactly talk about anger issues when I've got my own personal demons in need of fixing…_

 _And speaking of personal issues…_

* * *

"You don't mind if I?" Bruce gestured to the public toilets located just within eyesight of their hiding spot.

They were sitting under the shade of a few trees, quite secluded from everyone else. A nice quiet spot where Via could practice a couple of small spells without anyone noticing.

"Yeah sure" she shrugged, smirking as Bruce quickly dashed off in search of the facilities. He'd been trying to stay by her side at all times, doing his best to keep an eye out for more strange attackers who would try to accost her. However, it seemed at this point in time the call of nature was a bit more forceful than his duty to the girl he was watching over.

Via however didn't mind.

It gave her a little time to breath on her own as she sat there on the grass, casting a small spell in her lap.

She shut her eyes as she began to feel around the park.

There was so much life force buzzing around her. Always whenever she meditated back at the Sanctum the feel of life outside was always muted by the spells and protective enchantments that surrounded the building.

Now, she could nearly feel every single breath of every being here in the park…including one quite strong one standing in the trees behind her.

She quickly turned around only to cry out in surprise as something large and hairy bowled into her.

"WHOA! Hey!" she yelped as the thing licked her face with a big tongue.

It whined as she was quick to push it off her, pausing as she got a good look at her affectionate attacker.

It was, as she'd guessed, a dog. A great big, grey and black deerhound, with long shaggy hair, and a pair of very intelligent warm brown eyes.

Those eyes…they looked so familiar…but she couldn't quite place where she'd seen them before.

 _Maybe I've met this dog on the streets_

She thought wildly as she took in its slightly matted fur. It had no collar and it looked a little thin for its massive size. It gave her big round eyes as it leaned forwards into her outstretched hands and gave her fingers a lick.

"Sorry boy" she apologized, smiling sadly as she scratched his ear. "but I don't have any treats for you"

The dog however just gave her a tiny "boof" of acknowledgement as he nuzzled her arm and began sniffing at her hair.

There was a rushing of footsteps behind them and the dog barked as a shadow appeared amidst the trees.

Via quickly hopped to her feet, only to freeze.

"You…"

The figure gulped. It was a tall muscular man in a thick sweater and pants. He had shaggy brown hair tied back in a tiny ponytail, and he was wearing a baseball cap that couldn't quite hide his bright blue eyes in its shadow.

She knew those eyes. She'd seen them twice before, in this very park. First when she'd passed him by on that bridge all those months ago, and then barely one month ago when their owner had saved her from those thugs when she'd run away.

He looked straight at Via, eyes widening with panic as the ruddy skin under his rough facial hair began to pale.

"Wait!" Via called as he started to run, but the dog was faster.

With a loud bark and a large leap, the canine pounced on the man pinning him down easily under his long strong limbs, snarling into the man's face.

"Gerroff me!" the man growled reaching up to shove the animal, but was saved the trouble as Via called out.

"HEEL!"

Miraculously, inexplicably…the dog paused mid snarl and looked up at Via.

It quirked an ear at her, looking just as confused as it's captive beneath it as the girl stood up to her fullest height and pointed her finger down to the ground.

"I said heel!" she commanded fiercely.

There was a pause, in which the dog glanced down at the man and then back at Via, almost as if contemplating whether to listen to her or not.

But even as the man was considering throwing the animal off again, it quickly retreated, backing off him and trotting up to the girl.

It whined, almost apologetically as it nuzzled its snout into her hands.

"Good boy." She whispered, releasing her shaking breath as she looked back at the man.

"Sorry." She mumbled.

"It's fine…" the strange man mumbled, staring at her in amazement. "h-how did you do that?"

"I-I'm not sure. Here" Via shrugged reaching forwards with a helpful hand.

The man lifted his hand to take it, but hesitated, his expression odd.

"I'm not going to break if you touch me" Via tried smiling, and was pleased when the man took it, the corners of his lips quirking upwards despite himself.

"Thanks" he muttered quietly.

"No problem. Besides you did save me from those goons before so…y'know…" Via smiled as she looked the man over. He seemed a little more haggard than when she saw him last those couple of weeks ago.

 _Is he living here in the park?_

She wondered, though what she said instead was:

"So…we meet again…uh…whoever you are"

"Yeah…yeah I guess we do" the man gulped. "How're the shoulders?"

"Huh?" Via blinked and the man's ears reddened.

"When we met last time, you couldn't fight back because your shoulders hurt you" he blurted out.

"OH, those" now it was Via's turn to blush scarlet as she touched said shoulders "yeah…yeah they're doing much better. Wish I could say the same for those guys. You really got quite an arm on you"

"Yeah…" _if only you knew_ the man muttered the last bit in his head, coughing as she frowned at him "S-so what are you doing here again?"

"Just hanging out with some friends" Via shrugged. "And yourself?"

"Just walking" the man said stiffly.

There was a very embarrassed pause in which both man and girl stared at one another, both trying to assess one another, blue eyes meeting blue.

"I'm Via" Via finally coughed.

"Huh?" the man blinked, started out of his stare.

"My name's Via…short for Olivia."

"James…not really short for anything" he muttered and was relieved when she chuckled and held out her left hand for him to shake.

He stared at her hand.

"You're left handed?" he wondered aloud.

"Yeah…sorry" Via mumbled embarrassed as she started to switch hands, however the man, James, was quick to grab her left hand with his own left one, once again handling her with extreme delicacy. As if he were afraid to break her into a million pieces.

"Me too. It's nice to meet you…Via" his voice was soft as he tested her name on his tongue.

"It's nice to meet you too…uh…James"

For some reason, the sound of it was soothing to Via's ears. She wasn't sure why, but like his eyes, his gruff voice was very familiar to her…as was his left hand.

 _God, it's so solid. You'd think it was made of metal_.

She snorted in her head, only to startle as she heard a voice suddenly call:

"Via! Olivia!"

It was Bruce and he sounded worried.

"Shoot! Uh sorry, I gotta-" Via turned back to James, only to cry out in shock as the dog next to her suddenly bolted away at top speed.

"Well…that's one way to make an exit huh Ja-" Via turned back to James only to find her hand held out in mid air in front of her, and the man she'd just met gone.

"Wow…that was…weird…" she muttered pouting, her heart sinking a little in her chest.

 _I never got to thank him…_

She grumbled to herself as she trudged off back towards her old spot where Bruce was standing, alongside the other Avengers.

"Ah! There you are young one." Thor boomed with a wide smile. "Friend Steve was just wondering whether we should start a search party, such was his worry"

"I wasn't that worried" Steve muttered, but Via could see his cheeks turn pink as he added "I just thought she should be careful considering-"

"Considering that I almost got accosted here" Via finished smirking "So, did the scanner work"

"It did…" Bruce smiled but Tony just pouted.

"Mostly…there's still a lot of calibrations we need to make before it's perfect"

"Still it's a start and that's what counts" Bruce patted Tony's shoulder as Clint chortled.

"It led him into the women's toilet while Nat was in there"

"It what?" Via giggled.

"Yeah, it was a good thing it was empty, or else the press would have a field day. Billionaire Avenger follows GPS into the lady's room and gets pummelled by one very angry Black Widow."

"Oh god you're kidding" Via turned to Natasha who shrugged.

"Don't worry, he won't be walking in there again"

"It's just a bathroom" Tony rolled his eyes "Besides you ladies have cubicles with doors so I don't see what the problem is"

"The problem is, is that it's the ladies room." Via rolled her eyes dramatically "a sacred haven a girl can seek refuge when she wants to escape the stupidity that is mankind…or do a number two in peace without being judged"

"A…number two?" Thor quirked his brow as the others burst out laughing.

"Crapping" Natasha smirked and everyone's laughter grew even more as the Thunder God's cheeks burned red.

"Oh…oh…you mean…oh…" he turned to Via and frowned "That is very unseemly talk for a young maid-"

"What's so unseemly. Human's crap. It's one of the few ways we excrete waste from our systems." Via quirked a brow.

"Yeah…but it's not…well…girls don't usually talk about it…" Steve coughed as he and all the men flushed with embarrassment. All save Clint who just shrugged.

"Oh come on Cap it's the twenty first century. Girls aren't as shy as they once were."

"Especially when they're on the rag…then they get really vicious" Tony muttered only to shrink away as the only two females present narrowed their eyes dangerously at him.

"What say you Nat, should we give the old man a five minute head start?" Via raised her eyebrows at Natasha who smirked.

"No…give him two"

"You're both joking right?" Tony gulped taking a step back as both women stared him down.

"You've got 100 seconds left" Via pointed to her watch.

Tony's face paled.

* * *

 _Yeah… I love messing with Tony's head. You'd think it'd be difficult seeing as he's one of Earth's mightiest heroes. Truth be told it's actually pretty easy._

 _If there's one thing the Man of Iron fears more than anything its an angry woman after him. Especially if they're red heads (like Pepper or Natasha)._

 _But while I was busy hassling the avengers, I failed to take notice of what was going on closer to home…_

* * *

When the phone rang on his desk, Stephen stared at it blankly.

It wasn't often that it rang. Indeed, it was a rare occurrence.

After all barely anyone from the outside world knew about the sanctums, and all the other Masters usually sent him a message on his tablet or just popped in through a portal.

Quietly he picked up the phone, gulping as he tried to steady his shaking fingers. Even after all this time, they still trembled badly when he was tired.

"Hello, Doctor Strange speaking?" he responded mechanically, vaguely aware of the Cloak of Levitation giving his shoulders a comforting squeeze as a voice answered him on the other end.

 _"Hello Stephen, it's Susanna, Susanna Ericson from the adoption agency_ "

"Hello Susanna, how're you today?" Stephen forced a smile on his end, though inside he could feel his stomach doing a couple of backflips as the woman on the other end chuckled shyly.

" _Oh, good. Just drowning under all this paperwork. How's life in the oh-so-magical fast lane?_ "

"It's…well... _magical_. How can I help you today Susanna." Stephen snorted sardonically, though he was impressed by how well the woman kept her knowledge of his insane lifestyle under wraps with her words. He supposed being a secret agent would've taught her how to talk in code.

" _Actually, I was wondering if I could confirm our home studies meeting for tomorrow. Would three o clock be alright?_ "

"Y-yes of course" Stephen spluttered quickly gulping as Wong entered the room carrying a mug of coffee for him. "I-I'll just call Olivia and see if she can come home early from her internship"

 _"Alright perfect."_ Susanna chirruped on the other end only to quickly add _"also, one other thing I was hoping to talk to you about…about Via"_

"Yes?" Stephen swallowed, fingers trembling even more now over the landline.

 _"I was just wondering if it would be possible if I talked with her alone tomorrow."_

"Alone?"

 _"Yes…if that's alright with you. I mean…last time we met… I don't think we hit it off quite as well as we'd liked."_

"Really?" Stephen frowned glancing at Wong who eyed him suspiciously as he stalked out the room "but Olivia said-she said you guys were alright."

" _I guess we were_ " Susanna muttered carefully, as if she were treading on a minefield

 _"I just meant that well…I've worked with a lot of kids in the system and I know most of them don't really trust people in my position. From what I've seen of Via's file, I can tell she's one of those kids. It's alright really-"_ she added when Stephen started to speak _"She's nervous, and this adoption is a huge thing to adjust to without having virtual strangers enter her life. I just wanted to give her a chance to get to know me better. Something small to help her feel safe and secure."_

"I'll see what I can do. Though I'm sure she'll appreciate the offer." Stephen sighed in relief.

The call went by smoothly after that hurdle, and the more he and Susanna talked, the more relaxed Stephen became.

It was nice, he thought as after ten more minutes he finally hung up the phone. It was nice to be able to talk freely with someone non-mystical about normal everyday things, especially with Susanna Ericsson. She was a graceful, well read and well-spoken woman, and seemed to have a kind disposition, if her approach to her job was anything to go by.

She also genuinely seemed concerned about Via. That being said, Via didn't seem to like her.

It wasn't that she hated the woman. It was just that Via seemed wary at the very mention of her name. She almost always went on the defensive when talking about her, and did her best to change the subject if her name did come up in conversation.

 _Perhaps Susanna's right._

Stephen shut his spell book and stood to his feet.

 _Perhaps Olivia just doesn't trust her because of her place in the system. If I give them both time to get to know one another perhaps that might break some of the ice._

He hoped they would. Susanna seemed nice enough, and Via could benefit from having another lady in her life.

Sure she was a fan of Black Widow, but Natasha Romanoff was an assassin at her core…and yeah there was Christine.

But Christine was busy working, and though the two liked one another well enough, neither would have much time to see one another.

 _Of all the children I had to pick it had to be this girl_

He rolled his eyes fondly as he strolled down the stairs into the main hall.

It was dimly lit by a few lights, but it was more than enough for him to go by as he turned into the large ground floor library.

He smirked to himself as he saw the mess of books left on a nearby table amidst the forest of bookshelves.

"That girl" he shook his head as with a flick of his wrists, the books began arranging themselves back on the shelves they belonged.

He had to hand it to her. For a rough and tough little scrapper, she sure loved to read.

He exited the library, heaving a heavy sigh to himself as the Cloak of Levitation played with his collar, only to pause as he heard something scratching at the front door.

Quickly shrugging the cloak off, he walked over to the door and opened it.

…

…

"Oh…hello?"

* * *

 _By the time I got home from the Tower, it was nearly dark, and boy was I tired._

 _Training with Thor and Steve and then that outing to the park was exhausting._

 _I could only hope I fared better the next day when I had to go to Oscorp._

 _Unfortunately that evening fate had other plans._

* * *

"I'm home!" Via called, only to get greeted by absolute silence.

"Hello! Stephen? Wong?" she yelled as she turned on the lamps in the front entrance with a spell.

She was so tired she couldn't even be bothered to use the switch like a normal person, as she trudged up the stairs towards the second floor.

"I'm back!" she called out glumly to no-one in particular as she deposited all her gear in her room.

 _Doc's probably in his study again…_

She groaned as she slumped on her bed and kicked off her shoes.

 _And Wong's probably doing a class at Kamar Taj._

She stared up at the roof of her four poster bed, grimacing as she raised her arms and exposed her under arms.

They were lightly sweating.

"Ugh! Got to have a bath." She grumbled as she sat back up. "But I don't want to stand in the shower…"

Nope. Today had been too exhausting for her. She was going to sit in the bathtub.

 _God when did I become such a pampered pooch?_

She snorted to herself as she shed her clothes and covered herself in a fluffy baby blue bathrobe with white clouds, before slipping on a pair of fluffy sheep shaped slippers.

"right. Bath time" she muttered, grabbing her towel and setting free her curls from their ponytail.

With slow steps, she trudged out of her room and towards the large bathroom down the other end of the hall.

She was so tired, she did not even notice the voices on the other side of the door until she'd opened it wide…

Only to come crashing down as something large, hairy and wet all but leapt upon her.

"OW! WHAT THE HELL!?" she shrieked as a large tongue suddenly swiped up her face.

"NO! Down boy! Down!" Stephen's voice yelled as the doctor himself grabbed the hairy animal and pulled it back from her.

Via sat up quickly, eyes wide and body shaking as she beheld the sight before her.

There was Stephen, in his underwear and a T-shirt, sopping wet with, holding back a huge big shaggy dog that was covered head to foot in soap suds.

A shaggy greyish brown deerhound to be precise.

"Holy crap" Via breathed as she beheld the dog's brown eyes, which stared at her dolefully as he was lifted by a spell back into the half empty bathtub.

It whimpered as it set its weight down in the tub, quickly drawing up one of its front paws which seemed to be bent at an awkward angle.

"He was sitting on the front door" Stephen explained as he reached forwards to help her up. "His paw's broken. I'm taking him into the vet once I get him cleaned up. It was either that or leave him barking outside."

"How did he break it?" Via asked, for the animal didn't seem to have a damaged paw when she'd met it earlier that day.

"Don't know. It must have gotten hit by something" Stephen muttered as he reached for the detachable showerhead and began hosing the animal down.

"There we go. Oh now don't give me that look. You know it's good for you." he smirked as the animal gave him a mutinous glower. It obviously did not like bath time.

"I never picked you to be a dog person" Via chuckled as she knelt by the tup and began scrubbing the soap out of the dog's fur.

"My parents used to have a dog back when I was a kid" Stephen's smirk softened as he sprayed the dogs underside. "Donna, Vincent and I would play with him all day. Running, swimming you name it."

"Donna and Vincent?" Via quirked a brow.

"My siblings" Stephen muttered, voice barely a murmur.

"Older or younger?" Via leaned in interestedly.

"Younger" Stephen clipped, his expression now stony. It was almost as if he was berating himself for even bringing up the topic "Why do you ask?"

Via blinked in surprise "Well… why not ask?"

"Because there's nothing to talk about" Stephen pursed his lips doing his best to avoid her eyes as she pouted.

"But they're your family. How can there be nothing to talk about?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped waspishly and Via actually jerked backwards in alarm.

"Nothing. It's just… You never talk about your family. I was curious that's all."

"What's there to be curious about. They were my family. I grew up and I moved out when I was nineteen after-" he stopped and shook his head "Can we please just not talk about this. Okay?"

"O-okay." Via turned back to the large dog in the bathtub, rather perturbed.

She'd never seen him this antsy before. Not even about his hands, which were always such a delicate topic for him.

"Listen, Olivia, It's…it's been a long day" Stephen sighed heavily, guilt welling up as he saw the slight hurt in her eyes as she looked away. "...let's get this lump of hair clean and to a vet."

"Okay" Via murmured with a nod, forcing a smile on her face as she rubbed the last of the soap from the dog's shoulder.

"there we go-oh thank you" she giggled as the dog turned around and gave her a small lick on the face. "So what will happen when we take him to the vet?"

"We'll see if they'll fix up his leg" Stephen reached out with one hand to inspect the canine's injured paw. "And if he's doing alright we'll see if he can stay with us until he finds a good home…if Wong's okay with it of course"

"Oh…yeah Wong…" Via pulled a face "Can you imagine trying to explain this mess to him."

"Yeah, I'm hoping to have it sorted out by the time he gets back"

"Unlikely" Via snorted. "The guy's got the timing of the devil."

"Speaking of timing" Stephen coughed stiffly "Tomorrow afternoon we've got our first Family Study meeting with Susanna"

"Oh yeah? What time?" Via rolled her eyes, as she always did whenever the woman's name was mentioned.

"Three pm. You should be able to ask Stark for an early mark right?" Stephen smirked, only to frown as she looked very uncomfortable.

"I'm not sure…I mean…I'm supposed to be going with him to Oscorp Tower tomorrow"

Stephen scowled.

"Oscorp? What for?! I thought we agreed you weren't going to be sent on a mission until he checked with-"

"It's not a mission" Via quickly steamrolled over the top of him. "It's just…I'm going there as an assistant-slash-gofer. Doing stuff that-y'know-an actual intern would do"

"Oh…I see" Stephen sighed, relief overtaking him. "So there's been no development yet?"

"Only R and D now" Via grunted "I'm still trying to learn the spells I need to find the ley lines but it's difficult, and then there's all the Orders records I have to go through…" she paused as she glanced at the dog's face. "Seriously, this animal looks just like you did when you had that beastly beard crawling over your face"

"Oh come on it wasn't that bad" Stephen grumbled, self-consciously rubbing his own very neat facial hair.

"You looked like you had a muppet living on your fa-ah!" Via squeaked in surprise as Stephen turned the showerhead on her.

"Stop! Stop!" she squealed reaching out and grabbing the showerhead from him, before spraying it in his face. The dog beside them barked loudly, wagging his tail with excitement as he snapped at the spray which spun this way and that as the man and girl, playfully wrestled for control.

"Woah-whoa! Look out Olivia-you're going to-" Stephen spluttered as he and Via both choked through water and laughter as the dog decided at that moment to shake itself out all over them.

As it did, it's shoulder jostled the spray from Via's hands and the showerhead tilted towards the bathroom door, which opened-

"WHAT THE?" Wong spluttered as he received a face full of water.

"Shit!" Via gasped, grabbing the showerhead as Stephen quickly turned the tap of with his magic.

But the damage was done, and very quickly, both Via and the dog were scampering out of the doorway, the former giggling as Wong growled loudly:

"STRANGE!"

* * *

 _And that was the day we found Buddy. We weren't going to name him originally, but we just kept calling him buddy and well…the name kinda just stuck._

 _After Stephen escaped Wong's wrathful clutches (haha, sorry Stephen), we taped up Buddy's leg to a small splint and took him to the nearest twenty-four hour animal hospital._

 _Thankfully, his bone wasn't broken and his paw was only sprained and slightly twisted, so the vets were able to manoeuvre it back in its right spot before putting it in a cast to keep it in place. This, when added to the fee for getting him his shots and a micro-chip, nearly cost us an arm and a leg, but for once Stephen didn't complain about cost. He even offered to foster Buddy, of course only after we consulted Wong._

 _But Wong, surprisingly didn't seem to mind the idea of keeping a dog in the Sanctum, as long as he wasn't the one picking up doggy do in the chamber of Relics on the top floor._

 _I'm glad they both decided to keep Buddy._

 _The Sanctums' a huge place and sometimes it can get pretty lonely during the day. Buddy's great company to have. I love talking to him when I'm doing my homework in the library downstairs or cuddling up to him when I sit and watch TV._

 _Also having Buddy around adds an extra level of security. We may have a lot of protective spells, but Buddy's about the size of a beast so should some stupid fool come a knocking…well…enough said._

 _Also, fun fact, animals are more sensitive to the mystic energies than most humans, especially cats, which is why they used to be such sought after familiars back in the day. I know, weird right?_

 _And speaking of sensitive creatures, Buddy wasn't the only new face I'd be meeting that week…_

* * *

"Peter! Peter!" A woman's voice called out throughout the apartment. "Peter it's time to get up!"

"hmm! Five more minutes Aunt May" a bundle in a bed, grumbled from under the dark blue comforter.

But even as its owner made to shy away from the source of the noise, which came striding into the room at the very moment. It was a woman, tall and attractive with long brown hair and large thin rimmed glasses.

"Come on, get up you'll be late for your field trip." She rubbed the mass of blankets gently. But it didn't budge.

"Oh come on Pete. It's Oscorp! You've been talking about it all week, don't tell me you're backing out now"

"Oscorp on Thursday" the lump, Peter, mumbled.

"Peter" Aunt May smirked. "It _is_ Thursday"

The lump suddenly sat up straight, revealing a young teenager with short brown hair and a bewildered boyish face that stared wide eyed at his alarm clock.

"Crap! I'm late"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Aunt May rolled her eyes fondly as she watched her nephew quickly dash out of the bedroom in his pyjamas and into the bathroom.

"Sorry Uncle Ben!" he cried out as he all but shoved past a tall man with greying hair and a tired, but surprisingly youthful face who was trudging out of another bedroom.

"Late again?" Ben smirked at May who shrugged as if to say:

 _Teeangers, what can you do with them?_

If only they knew what Fate had in store for their nephew that day…

* * *

 **TADAA! And there we have it chapter 6.**

 **So yeah a lot of shit went down in this chapter. Via met her mystery savior (If you guys read Dreamcatcher you'd know who i'm talking about), and has gained a new four legged friend. I got inspiration for that from one of the deleted scenes on the Doctor Strange DVD, the one where Strange tends to an injured dog while homeless on the streets of Kathmandu. I really wish they'd kept it in! I figured he'd keep a dog around, for both company and protection.**

 **And moving forward we finally get to see our friendly neighborhood spider man come into the picture. I have to say i was surprised at how many people were asking about him being involved with Via. Seriously, how do you guys see this relationship going down? I mean i have my own plans all planned out and ready for how i want them both to interact with one another, but i'm super interested to to know what you guys see going down, because seriously the amount of people that keep asking about the two of them meeting-i've even had one person say they ship them already...and i haven't even written them in a scene together once!**

 **So yeah, Via's bonding with the team. She's sassy with Tony, but he likes her spunk so she gets away with it. Then there's Steve, I always figured she'd have the most trouble getting close to him because he sees her as a child and I can imagine he'd be uncomfortable letting a kid into such a dangerous lifestyle, whereas she's already out there and wanting to prove herself. Thor, likewise sees her as a child and likewise doesn't want her to come to harm, yet he also sees her as a mini-Sif, tough and able to handle herself. So now i've got three avengers team bonding moments (Tony, Thor, Steve) and three more to go (Natasha, Clint and Bruce). Wish me luck!**

 **Anyways, you guys know the read and review drill now, so i'll leave you to your reading.**

 **Cheers**

 **FuzzyBeta**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Does whatever a spider can**

"Well-well-well. Look who decided to wake up"

"G'morning Wong" Via yawned tiredly behind her hand. Behind her the large deerhound, Buddy, strode in behind her, carefully treading on his still sprained ankle.

It was nine o clock Monday morning, when she had trudged into the New York Sanctum's kitchen in her PJs where Stephen and Wong were sitting having breakfast.

"I thought you were going with Stark to meet Norman Osborn today?" Stephen muttered behind his newspaper, briefly reaching down to pet Buddy on the head.

"He and Happy are picking me up at eleven, and then it's straight to the Oscorp tower" Via mumbled sleepily as she poured herself some homemade muesli into a bowl of milk.

"I trust you have something nice to wear?" Wong quirked a stern brow at her "Oscorp is a prestigious company-"

"I know." Via grumbled through a mouthful of food "And don't worry I got an outfit, I ran it by Natasha last night"

"Natasha? As in Romanoff?" Stephen quirked a brow.

"Yes her" Via scowled "She sent the Oscorp files along with a dress code."

"Good." Wong nodded in approval as he settled down to his own meal. "And now onto more important matters."

He turned towards Stephen who had put down his newspaper, his face grim.

"It's to do with my training" he explained quietly "to become the new Sorcerer Supreme"

"Oh…" Via blinked. "okay…what's wrong"

"Nothing's wrong it's…" Stephen sighed rubbing his beard "It's master Fan"

"What about him?" Via scowled angrily. "Is he causing trouble again?"

"No…at least not yet" Wong muttered darkly. "It seems he's finally found those old records we've been looking for"

"Old records for what?" Via stiffened uncomfortably.

"Old records pertaining to the selection process for New Leaders of the Order" Stephen answered. "Apparently the Ancient One wasn't the only one of her position"

"Of course she wasn't" Via rolled her eyes "the Order of the Mystic Arts was founded by Agamotto and then has been maintained by other human Grand masters for centuries"

"I see you've been paying attention to your history lessons" Wong smirked approvingly at the young apprentice who just shrugged.

"History, shmistory! So what's the process for choosing a new leader for the Order?"

"A series of trials…apparently" Stephen sighed "Each one dangerous"

"What else is new?" Via snorted but was quickly silenced by Wong's now disapproving glare.

"These trials were designed to push the human form beyond the brink of normal magic" the Librarian said sternly "More specifically, tests of the mind, the body and the soul-"

"What kind of tests?" Via gulped, not quite liking where this was going and sure enough.

"We're not sure, we're still looking into that. All we can say is that from the records many participants of the trials have died in the process" Wong muttered.

"You can't be serious?" Via turned to Stephen, wide eyed.

"Unfortunately we are" Stephen sighed. "If I'm to become the next Sorcerer Supreme I will have to go through these trials"

"Which means a lot of strenuous training," Wong finished.

"Anything I can do to help?" Via leaned forward.

Both Wong and Stephen's smirked softly, the latter reaching out to ruffle her mussed up curls.

"Not at the moment. It'll be a while till we find out the exact details, but when we do we'll let you know. We just wanted you to be in the loop"

Via opened her mouth to answer only to get interrupted by a loud beep.

"Message from Tony" She grumbled "Might be coming ten minutes early. Guess I gotta wrap up here if I'm gonna get ready."

She quickly wolfed down the rest of her food, washed her dishes and dashed out the door, followed by a very eager Buddy who nuzzled her hand for a petting as they rounded a corner.

Wong and Stephen both sighed heavily.

"I still think we should've told her about Mordo" Wong muttered, glaring sidelong at Stephen who scowled. "I mean…about him being spotted in America with Cassian-"

"No" Stephen clipped firmly. "You saw how upset she after that whole mess. If she knew about them being here she'd go after them, and there's no way in hell I'm letting that boy get his hands on her. God knows what he'd do to get revenge on his father."

"Indeed" Wong agreed bitterly "Indeed…"

* * *

"Hey Peter! Peter! Over here!"

"Hey Ned" Peter Parker yawned as he shuffled his way to the back of the bus, hoping against hope that people would be too busy to notice him.

His prayers went unanswered as a taller boy with dark skin and hair and a very smug face sneered at him from amongst his posse of taller rich looking teens.

"Hey everyone look who decided to show up? It's _Penis_ Parker"

"Come on man" Ned urged Peter, who kept his head down, avoiding all the cackles of taunting laughter that followed him.

He slumped down low as he sat down beside the plump form of Ned beside him.

"Just ignore Flash" Ned muttered, bubbling over with excitement "So Oscorp huh? What do you think we're gonna see? Oh-oh! Do you think we'll get to see some cool-"

Peter shut his eyes as his best friend blabbered on beside him, unaware that he was glazing out.

He wasn't sure why, but he felt like today things were going to change.

Little did he know that one of those changes was speeding towards him in a fancy sports car alongside Tony Stark himself.

* * *

"So now you're giving me this?" Via sighed holding out the Stark industries smart tablet.

She was in the front passengers seat next to Tony, who was driving the car himself in one expensive suit with a sharp pair of sunglasses, which he rolled his eyes behind.

"Honestly, you've got to be the only person I've seen actually complain about getting spoiled" he grumbled and Via pouted.

"I'm not ungrateful. I'm just…Not used to it" she mumbled softly flicking through the files on Norman Osborn. "There's something off about these"

"I know. That's why we're investigating Oscorp today" Tony muttered before adding quickly "Oh by the way, good job with the clothes"

"Oh this?" she flushed a little pink as she made to check her neat ponytail in the mirror. "I just tossed it together this morning. Natasha said I'd need something feminine to keep up the act"

"And she was right" Tony nodded approvingly. "Norman Osborn is a very picky guy when it comes to appearances. Usually I wouldn't care about what my interns wear to work, girl or boy, but when it comes down to Osborn…he's-"

"Archaic?" Via snorted.

"I was going to say _old-fashioned_. But yeah Archaic works too." Tony quirked a brow at her "Whatever the point is that this is a huge operation which requires a great diversion which is why I'm taking you along with me and not Pepper."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Via frowned.

"Norman sees Pepper as a threat. She's the CEO of my company, he'll be even more on edge if both she and I were to meet him face to face. You however, you are a young teenager, Norman will most likely overlook you" he droned.

"Right and you need him to overlook me because…" she prompted.

"Because, I need you to use your pretty face to case the joint before we send Nat and Clint tonight."

"Excuse me?" Via spluttered but Tony just waved her off.

"You heard me. I need you to get a good look at the security measures around Oscorp tower. Nat and Clint are currently getting all their resources ready to break in tomorrow, but they need more intel and the less the security cameras get a look at them the better. I'd ask Thor or Steve but they're too easily recognizable. And Bruce can't chance going near such a radioactively charged area with the big guy. Which just leaves you and me, and quite frankly you've got more chance then I do of getting away with murder."

"So basically, you're sending me, a teenager, to sneak around a giant building filled with secret projects, radioactive substances and scientists? Yeah that won't look suspicious at all." Via scowled.

"Don't worry once we gain entrance and have talked to Norman for a little bit I'll dismiss you to have lunch. Then you'll go down a few levels and latch onto one of the school tours. From there you should be able to get a good view of all the security measures in place without arousing suspicion" Tony explained calmly.

"Right, and what if someone realizes I'm not one of them"

"They won't. Don't worry. If you behave and follow them quietly. Worst comes to worst you could always say you got separated from another tour group. But most likely it won't come to that. Just keep your head down and try to keep the sass to a minimum. I know other teens can be idiots but you need to fly under the radar if this is gonna work. Chances are no one will mess with you seeing as you look cute"

"So basically, you're saying play nice with the other children as the perfect little barbie doll assistant?" Via rolled her eyes.

"What I'm saying is that you've got a pretty face, so use it to your best advantage." Tony smirked as he checked the rear-view mirror "A lot of people look at you and think you're sweet, they won't expect you to fight dirty. Or even fight at all."

Via didn't say anything. How could she. Her already shot nerves were now racing through the roof of the car.

"If I get out of this alive remind me to sick Buddy on you" She grumbled.

"Whoa-whoa wait-who's Buddy?" Tony frowned in confusion.

"Never you mind" Via snorted, corners of her mouth twitching upwards as she entertained thoughts of the great big deerhound chasing and pinning down the oh-so-brilliant billionaire.

It probably wouldn't come to fruition but what the heck.

A spider sorceress could dream.

* * *

 _Back when I was first learning magic back at Kamar Taj, there came a discussion about the idea of fate and destiny._

 _Many of the other students of the mystic arts thought that fate was something that we had no knowledge or control over before events actually happened. Others believed that we create our own fate._

 _I personally find myself constantly stuck between the two. On the one hand, I can look back and see that in the past, certain things were supposed to happen to make the present we're in now. However when it comes down to predicting future events there is always a possibility for something different…something new and unexpected that we can make for ourselves._

 _The words the future isn't set in stone is very true…and yet that day when I went to Oscorp I knew right down in the very fabric of my being, that, that day was going to change the world._

 _How that was going to happen I had no clue…_

* * *

The induction into the building was boring.

The security checks were long winded and dull.

The tour guide's introduction was a monotonous drone.

The only thing that kept Peter Parker in awe was the massive beautiful building that surrounded him and his classmates.

"Oh my god! Oh-my-god! We're actually in Oscorp right now" Ned was busy gaping at the high glass ceiling of the lobby through which glorious sunlight was streaming through.

"Now if you'll please follow me class" the Tour guide forced a very rehearsed smile onto their face.

"Come on Ned" Peter hissed grabbing Ned by the elbow.

But Ned wasn't listening. His eyes were now staring transfixed at the doors they'd just come through.

"Dude…check it out" he breathed.

Peter and the rest of their class quickly turned around to see what he was looking at only for all their jaws to drop.

There, striding through the glass doors and on those marble floors was Tony Stark himself, tailed by several bodyguards led by a rather beefy looking one with sunglasses, and someone with a head of gold.

It wasn't as if he wasn't in awe of Tony Stark appearing.

Tony Stark was a superhero, a billionaire, an inventor, one of the great Avengers. He'd fought against Alien invaders, had created so many amazing machines that Peter could only dream of.

And yet there was something about the head of golden curls that just drew his eyes away from the man of Iron.

She was wearing a simple blue and white floral dress that fell just above the knee with a short navy-blue cardigan over the top and a small brown belt around her slender waist. On her feet, she wore a pair of cute but simple black ballerina flats. Her pretty face was smiling as she talked to the bodyguard next to her, who seemed to be grumbling about something.

She was just about to pull out a smart-pad from her black leather satchel as her eyes met his.

They were a bright blue, so sharp it almost felt they could pierce him straight through the heart of the ocean.

"-Stark's doing at Oscorp?" Ned's voice floated into his ears, however it seemed as if it was coming from a long way away.

"What?" Peter shook his head to clear it, not taking his eyes off the girl as she and her group were quickly greeted by a woman in a very corporate black and white dress.

"I said" Ned sighed in exasperation "I wonder what Tony Stark is doing at Oscorp?"

"Probably some business deal?" Peter muttered distractedly, now craning his neck to get a good last look at the girl as she and Tony Stark and their guards were led into a nearby elevator.

Now that he looked close enough he could see that the hero and the girl were both talking to one another, or at least Tony was smirking and the girl was rolling her eyes with exasperation.

He wondered who she could possibly be. Tony Stark was one of the most powerful people on the planet, so how could a seemingly normal (if very pretty) teenager their age talk to him with such familiarity?

 _Maybe she's the daughter of some rich friend?_

He frowned as the glass elevator doors began to slide shut.

 _Maybe she's a relative? HIS daughter? He is a womanizer. But no that can't be right. Everyone knows Mister Stark has no living family left. And if anyone knew he had a daughter the press would have a field day-_

Peter felt his cheeks flush scarlet as the girl met his once more through the glass door of the elevator.

She blushed a slight pink as she turned back to the smart-pad in her hands. On her lips was the tiniest of shy smiles gracing her lips as she tucked a stray curl behind her ear, the sunlight from the glass ceiling above making her golden locks glisten and her warm skin glow-

Then suddenly the view was blocked by a hand waving in front of his face.

"Peter! PETER!"

"Ned-cut it out!" Peter groaned, swatting away his best friend's hands, but it was too late. The golden haired girl and Tony Stark had both vanished as their elevator finally zoomed up into the heavens and out of sight.

"Thanks a lot" he muttered darkly as he began trudging along after the rest of their cohort.

"Dude seriously what is with you today?" Ned shook his head in exasperation "Tony Stark just walked right by us and you were totally spaced out-hey why's your face so red?"

"I'm just tired alright. I didn't get much sleep last night." Peter grumbled, ducking his head down to avoid the sniggering of Flash and his cronies a few feet away.

"Come on, let's keep moving"

* * *

"Well done kid, you're past stage one" Tony smirked as Via followed him out of the lift.

They were now at the top floor of the building, which stood only a few storeys lower than the Avengers Tower which they could see several blocks away through a window to their right.

"What is it with big execs and heights?" She grumbled, doing her best to keep her nerves down as she looked down to the faraway street below.

She was thankful she had the Web of Asibikaashi on her right now. God forbid she somehow ended up on the other side of that glass…

Her terrifying thoughts were put to a stop as they paused to wait outside a large set of dark wooden doors.

"Wait right here," the secretary that brought them up clipped tersely, before quickly slipping inside the room.

There were murmurings on the other side and then the bark of a mans voice.

"Last thing I need is some snot nosed brat poking their nose where it doesn't belong-"

"Amazing, he hasn't even met me yet and he's already turfing me out" Via snorted softly, as the secretary started mumbling something hurriedly.

"Don't take it personally," Tony assured her quietly "Osborn's pretty much an ass to everyone who hasn't got millions in their pocket."

"Surprise, surprise" Via rolled her eyes as the secretary quickly scurried out of the room.

"So sorry" she muttered doing her best (and failing) to mask her slight terror with a professional smile. "But Mister Osborn is wondering if your security and intern could remain outside. He wants this meeting to remain as confidential as possible."

"Of course. Happy, why don't you and the boys wait out here. Kid, you go downstairs to the café, grab some lunch and meet us in the lobby in…two hours?"

"Right, two hours. Happy you want me to grab you and the guys a coffee?" Via asked much to Happy's surprise.

"No, no we're all good. But thank you kid." He turned and gave Tony a very pointed look as the girl smiled and strode back towards the lift.

As soon as she'd reached the doors Happy turned to Tony with a very pointed look.

"I still don't like this idea" the bodyguard murmured quietly.

"She'll be fine" Tony waved him off, though he couldn't help but give the girl's back a small worried frown as he opened the door to Osborn's office.

 _I hope. Good luck kid._

* * *

The trip down to the café in the lobby was uneventful. Not many people paid Via much attention now that she was free of Tony and his entourage. And with the visitors badge around her neck everyone thought she was just another intern or student.

She was mostly surprised by how people smiled at her when she had to excuse herself to walk past them.

She might have been flattered by the positive attention, had she not remembered the ugly nasty stares people used to give her when she was back on the streets. It wasn't as if her face had changed much, but give her some pretty dress and girly clothes and suddenly people thought she was worth taking notice of.

 _It's amazing…the shallowness of this world…_

She shook her head to herself as she reached into her bag to pay for her hot chocolate and headed over to the gift shop in the corner.

She could see a fair few teenagers her age standing in there, all of them looking extremely bored as they waited for some visitor's badges to be passed around to each of them.

 _Tony did say they'd be the easiest group to follow._

She quickly slid her own visitors pass into her handbag pocket as she quietly sidled into the gift shop.

It was easy for her to quickly hide behind a small stand of purple plushie octopi, each wearing a black or white T-shirt with the Oscorp logo emblazoned in green upon it. Then, when she was sure no one else was looking, she slipped in at the back of the long queue right behind a round boy with dark skin and dark hair, dressed in red who was talking animatedly non-stop to the Caucasian brown haired boy who in front of him in jeans and a blue sweater.

"-Seriously though, a gift store? I mean why not just give them out at the lobby?"

"Dunno, maybe they don't want to overcrowd the desk-" the boy in blue hissed, glancing back irritably at his friend as he quickly accepted a visitor's badge.

Via felt her heart sink as she caught sight of his face.

It was him. The boy from the lobby, the one that had been staring at her as she walked with Tony.

He was…well…a nerd. Via really couldn't describe him any other way. True he wasn't a stereotypically _ugly_ nerd, actually he had an innocent boyish air about him that was awkwardly charming in it's own odd way.

 _Jailbait_

She mentally snorted.

Via knew she didn't look too threatening, but even she knew how to put on the _don't-mess-with-me_ look when time called for it, and usually she could pull it off quite well. This boy on the other hand…he looked about as threatening as a wee lamb prancing in a paddock. And that was when he was scowling!

Thankfully he was too preoccupied with his friend to notice her behind them. Or was that just because his friend was large enough to obscure her from view?

Via decided it was the latter as she quickly received a lanyard from the tour guide, who barely even spared her a glance as he made to put the box away.

She ducked her head down as she made to follow the two boys towards the back of the school group, checking the clock on her phone.

"Aura, switch to silent" she mumbled quietly and soundlessly, Aura switched her functions to silent. "Good, now set timer for two hours"

On the screen below the clock, a countdown timer suddenly flickered to life.

"Whoa! Cool nice phone!" a voice hissed over her shoulder.

At once without thinking, Via's elbow flew out and smacked whoever it was in the stomach.

"Ooph!" a tubby boy in red with dark hair doubled over wheezing.

"Oh shit! I am so sorry" Via whispered frantically patting the guy on the shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…yeah…all good" the boy puffed, rubbing his stomach.

"Sorry" Via felt her cheeks go red as several people turned to look at the two of them with mild interest. Meanwhile in front of the group, the tour guide was still leading them, completely oblivious to the situation.

However, someone else wasn't.

"Ned!"

"great" Via muttered as the boy in blue detached himself from the group and sidled towards them.

When he saw Via he paused, cheeks flushing pink.

"Y-you?" he blinked. "Y-you were with Mister Stark-"

"Yeah…" Via avoided his eye. So much for being inconspicuous.

"Sorry man" she turned to the chubby boy, Ned who was finally straightening up and grinning to her surprise.

"It's okay. I-I've had worse" he tried smirking with bravado, but only ended up looking like he had bad toothache even as he tried to _smoothly_ sweep back his hair. "S-so you work with Mister Stark"

"I'm his intern slash gofer" Via shrugged "Got turfed out of a business meeting. Thought I'd kill time tagging along with this" she gestured to the group at large just as the to the tour guide droned from somewhere ahead:

"And if you all would follow me to the elevators-"

"I guess that's our queue" Via muttered as they began walking after the back of the large tour group. "I'm Via by the way. Via Summers"

"I'm Ned, Ned Leeds and this here is my boy, Peter Parker" Ned blurted out before his friend, Peter, could stop him.

"I-I-It's nice to meet you Via" Peter stammered cursing himself internally. Trust him to stammer like an idiot in front of a cute girl. "S-so why'd you get turfed out of the meeting?"

"Something about confidentiality" Via rolled her eyes "apparently it's a really important thing to bigwig execs"

Despite his red cheeks, Peter found himself snorting with laughter along with Ned who smirked as he blurted out:

"So what's it like working for mister Stark? Is it cool? Have you met the Avengers? Oh! What's Thor like? Is he really super godly and powerful? Have you met the Hulk? Is Black Widow even hotter in person?"

"Ned, come on-" Peter hissed only to have an elbow jab into his side as his best friend whispered.

"Dude what the hell I'm just asking-"

"Yes" Via smirked at the boys antics.

"Huh?" they both blinked up _oh so elegantly_ at her.

"I said yes. As in I've met them…the Avengers…and they're pretty darn cool. But I only met them once" she added quickly, after all the less said about her involvement with the world's greatest heroes, the better. After all no one would be interested in a measly little intern, who only got the coffee right?

"Well hello" someone whistled softly at her back.

 _You've got to be kidding me?_

Via raised her eyebrows at the perpetrator of the noise.

It was a dark skinned boy with expensive looking clothes and a fancy watch and slick backed dark hair. His dark eyes were looking her up and down like a piece of meat.

"Hello?" she clipped, uncomfortable with the stare.

"I don't think I've seen you around before" the stranger smirked and Via noticed, her stomach sinking, that behind him were several guys slightly bigger and older looking.

"She's in Miss Carpenter's class Flash" Peter supplied helpfully only for the rich looking kid to spit at him.

"No one asked you Parker" he turned back to Via, flashing what he must've thought was a charming smirk "Listen, you don't have to uh…hang around with-heh! These stupid losers-"

"Right and who exactly are you to tell me who I should and should not _hang around_ with?" Via folded her arms blue eyes now icy cold.

The boy, Flash looked rather taken aback, coughing as he tried to recover his footing.

"I-I just meant. You seem like a really cool chick-"

"And what because I'm _cool_ means I can't talk to normal people like a normal person is that it? Wow…aren't you _so_ profound" Via rolled her eyes as without further ado she turned her back on Flash, but not before adding "Oh by the way _._ Your fly's down."

There were sniggers from the other students around them as they all paused to watch a now very flustered Flash look down at the open crotch of his pants.

"Have a nice life _Flasher_ " Via smirked, winking cheekily at Peter and Ned, both of whom were gaping in awe at her as she passed them by.

"Well aren't you coming for this tour or what?"

"Dude…" Ned was nearly drooling now in awe at the girl and Peter couldn't blame him.

The girl was gorgeous, she was genuinely nice, she worked for Tony Stark AND she'd just burned Flash in front of their entire class.

Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

 _I know I know. I told Tony I wouldn't cause a scene. But seriously jerks like Flash Thompson really irritate the living crap out of me._

 _All those idiots think that just because I'm blonde and wear a skirt means that I have to be the preppy girl that snobs everybody but the "cool" crowd …argh god!_

 _Sorry but sometimes the superficiality of other people just gets my webs in a twist._

 _And speaking of webs…_

* * *

 _An hour to go._

Via checked Aura's timer on the phone.

She'd been on the school tour for about an hour but hadn't been able to case the joint properly thanks to Ned and Peter.

It was a good thing she set Aura to record everything on camera quietly in the background, otherwise this whole expedition for her would've counted for naught.

They'd been walking and talking for a good ten minutes about Midtown high, Peter and Ned's school, when Via felt it.

A surge of mystical energy.

It was nothing like anything she'd ever felt before.

It was dark…heavy, and almost felt like it was sucking her in with its pull.

"Hey you okay?" Peter asked frowning as she quickly turned back and smiled.

"Nothing I-I just …bathroom" she mumbled pointing back down the corridor "I'll just be a sec"

"Hey Peter didn't you say you had to go to the bathroom too?" he nudged at Peter who blinked in surprise from where he'd been trying to hide.

"What-no I-" but Peter was cut off by his best friend tugging him close to whisper fiercely.

"Just go with it dude"

"Go with what? Ned what the hell are you doing?" Peter hissed back, ears flushing as he saw Via quickly wave a small goodbye at them before quickly trying to back away as inconspicuously as she could.

"What does it look like I'm doing. I'm getting you some alone time with her"

"You what-why?"

"Because I'm your wingman. That's what a wingman does" Ned grinned as his friend's face turned beet red. "Oh come on Pete, she's pretty, she's nice, she talks to us AND she practically shut down Flash. She's perfect-"

"Which is why this idea of yours is crazy" Peter groaned into his hands "There's no way it would ever work. She's probably just being nice to us because she feels sorry-"

"No she's not" Ned grinned "Trust me Pete, I've seen girls look at us and she's not like them. She's a nice person. Just…give it a go before its too late"

"But-" Peter peered around, catching sight of the blonde head of curls now quietly sneaking away from the back of the group and towards the sharp turn in the corridor.

He only knew her name, he didn't even know if she had any social media account to talk to her. If she walked away now he might never get another chance.

Peter looked back at Ned, and then back at her only to see the hem of her blue dress whip out of sight.

"Damn it"

* * *

"Damn it" Via hissed as she felt Aura buzz.

Quickly she picked up her phone and answered the call, only to have Tony whispering in her ear.

"Hey kid how's it going? Hope you're having a productive lunch"

"You could say that" Via rolled her eyes "I just escaped a school tour group."

"Oh, and did you make any new friends?" Tony smirked on the other end.

Oh how Via wished she could wipe the smug look off the billionaire's face.

But her irritation was once again impeded by the pulsing of intense mystic energy.

"Via? Olivia?" Tony was sounding slightly worried now.

"I'm here" Via mumbled, doing her best to hide from sight as two men in white lab coats strode past her talking animatedly, both of them walking from the direction she'd felt the magical energy come from.

"Tony…" she breathed, not daring to raise her voice even the slightest decibel "There's a relic at Oscorp"

"Yeah and his name's Norman Osborn" even from her end Via could hear his smirk widen.

"Better hope your buddy doesn't hear you" she scowled and Tony chuckled.

"Don't worry he won't. He's in the bathroom. And speaking of which where are you?"

"On the twentieth floor close to the biochemical labs." Via muttered as she turned a corner and found herself in a deserted hallway. "But that's not important. Tony. There's a relic in the building. A real one"

"Are you sure?" Tony's voice suddenly turned serious and quiet.

"Of course I am." Via rolled her eyes "The damn thing's leaking more mystic energy than a man with a bullet to his skull."

"Wow…thank you for that graphic imagery. But seriously kid. Don't go investigating. Just case the joint, find out the relic's rough location and get back to the Lobby." Tony muttered sardonically, but Via wasn't listening.

She was now at a door at the very end of the hallway. It was a very heavy metal door, completely air tight with no gaps at its borders. Whatever was behind it, must've been pretty darn powerful if it was managing to leak that much energy through a closed space.

 _Nothing a sling ring portal can't get through…now how to get around the security cameras…_

She looked up at the ceiling where, sure enough, there were two security cameras looking down at her spot.

"Uh …let me put you on hold" Via whispered into her phone, promptly cutting Tony off mid-sentence as she hung up the call.

 _Sorry, Old Man. But you're going to have to trust me on this one._

She scowled as quickly she walked back down the corridor and entered an open room, which just so happened to be a janitor's closet.

 _Perfect_

She quickly dashed in, shutting the door tight behind her, which plunged her into total darkness.

 _Right, this should do the trick._

She quickly slipped on her sling ring and started the incantation.

She squinted as the sparking amber ring burst into life in front of her eyes.

Carefully as she dared she poked her head through the hole it made, only to shrink her head back as a voice suddenly spoke.

"I'm sorry Mister Osborn but it's impossible to see the results now-" it was a weedy raspy voice, and it pierced through the eerie green lit room she could faintly see through the small portal.

It was a strange room. Hexagonal with a large computer system set in the middle at which someone in a hazmat suit was hurriedly working at with his back towards Via.

Around the man was a strange series of columns between which were large thin white nets, carefully woven by small black eight legged-

"The spiders need more time" the scientist spoke into the phone beside him, pausing as a rough voice on the other end barked something indiscernible.

"yes…yes I do understand that we've got to compete with Stark but- No sir. No sir I understand. Of course the machine is working perfectly. It's just-It's just the spiders need more exposure to the artefact before we subject them to more radiation treatments-"

 _Radiation treatment? Artefact?_

Via inhaled sharply, only to panic as the scientist stiffened at his spot in front of the console.

" _Octavius? Octavius!"_ the voice of Norman Osborn barked over the phone as the man, Octavius slowly turned around to look behind him.

"Sorry Mister Osborn." He drawled as he eyed the bare wall behind him "Now where were we?"

 _Holy crap. Holy crap-holy crap-holy crap!_

Via sighed heavily as she sank down the length of the storage closet.

That had been close.

WAY too close for comfort.

 _At least now you know what's going on brat._

She heard Asmund hiss in her ear.

 _Nonetheless you should leave as soon as possible_

Brynja gently urged and Via quickly checked Aura's timer.

She only had fifteen minutes to get downstairs in time to meet Tony and Happy.

"Shit" she hissed as quickly she darted out of the janitor's closet, doing her best to stay at a brisk walking pace even though her mind was telling her to run.

She was so preoccupied with her rush that she almost crashed into someone just outside the bathrooms that were close to the elevators.

"Ow what the-oh Peter" Via blinked as Peter stumbled back from her.

"H-hey" Peter mumbled, cursing his dumb luck as he quickly tried to right himself. "Are you okay? You kinda rushed off"

"I-I had to use the bathroom real bad. Then Mister Stark called me. Said I had to meet him downstairs right now." Via blushed, thanking her lucky stars as she caught sight of the tour group headed right their way.

"Oh…oh…" Peter deflated. He'd only just managed to find her to talk and already she was dashing off again. He should've known he'd never have such luck.

Via seemed to see his disappointment because she gave him a small sad smile.

"Yeah…I know it sucks. I was really looking forward to seeing those lizard labs upstairs"

"Same here" Peter mumbled, but quickly blurted out as he caught sight of Ned's anxious face trying to jump out from the back of the approaching crowd of teenagers.

"Wait. Do you have Facebook?"

"Facebook?" Via gulped quickly looking down at her phone. She was relieved when she saw Aura bring up what appeared to be some kind of social media profile, which was using her Stark Industries ID photograph as a profile picture.

"Uh…yeah sure. I got it."

 _Whatever it is?_ Via faked a wide smile as Peter's face lit up hopefully.

"Gr-great" he stuttered "I'll add you then-I mean that is…if you want to add me. It's totally cool if you don't want to."

"What? Oh no, sure you can add me. Wait a sec" she looked down at her phone and down to a small text blurb Aura had written out for her (as she was still operating in silent mode).

 _"Send Friend Request to Peter Parker? Yes/No?"_

Via quickly hit the yes button, smirking as something buzzed in Peter's pocket, making him jump.

He quickly looked at his phone, a wide grin creeping up his face despite himself as he saw the notice for a friend request pop up on his lock screen.

"Woah cool" he looked up at her, just in time to see her gasp in horror.

"Shit I'm so late" She smiled apologetically up at him as she quickly backed away to catch an open elevator. "Sorry. Gotta go. It was nice meeting you Peter"

"It was nice meeting you too!" Peter called as the doors began to close. Just before they sealed shut he caught sight of her smiling warmly at him and waving.

 _Wow…_

He sighed as he looked down at his phone.

 _Olivia…her name's Olivi-OW!_

He jumped as something suddenly pinched him sharply in the arm, under his jacket sleeve.

Something that was small, black and had eight hairy legs.

* * *

 _And so that's how I met Peter Parker._

 _He's a good guy. A little shy at first, but he's good._

 _In many ways he kinda reminds me of Bruce, but unlike him, Peter's not got any temper problems (well at least as far as I know)._

 _That being said, had I known what was going to happen that day, I would've hesitated to take the path I did, because little did I know of what I had unleased._

 _At least not until it was too late._

 _Anyways back to my story._

 _So I had just finished my own infiltration of Oscorp, and let's just say that Tony wasn't very happy with me._

 _In hindsight I can't really blame him._

 _I had after all just opened up a portal into a highly radioactive area, of what could possibly a very dangerous room with an equally dangerous scientist._

 _Who knows what could've gone wrong._

 _And so it was with a lot of irritation that he started giving me a long lecture on the effects of radiation poisoning as we sat in the back seat of his sports car, with Happy at the wheel…_

* * *

Cornelius Craven smirked as he and his brother Sergei sat in the two front seats of the large black truck.

They'd only just received orders from their new boss and they were feeling the excitement building.

"I can't believe we're going to actually do this" Sergei grunted, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards as he eyed the gps on the dashboard.

"I mean, if this had been Strucker we'd be still sitting on our asses waiting his permission."

"It might surprise you to know," Cornelius drawled "that our dear friend the Baron, is but a small fish in a big pond. There are many more people out there with more resources willing to let us do things our way for a much bigger price"

"As they should" Sergei muttered, his Russian accent thicker as he sucked on an E-cigarette.

"Shit…How long was it since we first got the order? Twelve years?"

"Fourteen" Cornelius muttered chomping on a protein bar. "Fourteen bloody years of searching for the brat….but it seems our patience is finally paying off" he added slowly, pointing to the GPS on which a blue dot was moving swiftly towards their alleyway.

"Right that's our queue. Step on it Sergei."

"Finally, the hunters get to play" Sergei grinned as he revved up the truck's engine.

Cornelius smirked too.

Oh this was going to be fun.

* * *

"Listen I get it, I did something reckless and stupid." Via groaned sagging in her seat as Tony quickly pulled out his glass phone.

"Damn right you did. Hey Jarvis, can you get Maria to set up the radiation decontamination chamber at the tower. Miss Summers desperately needs a bath"

"Says the man whose car stinks of shawarma and meat" Via snorted at Happy who smirked sympathetically.

"There see Tony, I'm not the only one who thinks so" he complained to Tony who rolled his eyes.

"That's not the point. You could've gotten caught-"

"But I didn't" Via growled "and because I didn't I know what Osborn's using all those radioactive materials for."

"Oh yeah?" Tony folded his arms. "What?"

"Spiders"

"What?" Tony blinked.

"Project Weaver. It's all about spiders. There was a whole room of them on the twentieth floor. Osborn was grilling one of his scientists about them. Apparently, they're trying to use whatever relic they've got, on the spiders before subjecting them to some kind of radioactive treatment."

"What kind of treatment? Gamma radiation, Alpha radiation?" Tony frowned concernedly but Via shrugged.

"Dunno, I had to duck out before the guy could see me"

"and who was this _guy_?" Tony scratched his chin as he pulled out a hologram and flung it onto the car window beside him.

"I don't know…something beginning with O…uh…Ollie? Otto-"

"Otto Octavius?" Tony finished as his holograms quickly pulled up a file.

"I think so. I didn't see his face" Via frowned as she tried to squint at the file from her spot "He was wearing a big suit over all his clothes"

"A hazmat suit" Tony muttered giving her a pointed look.

"Look I admit it, it was dumb to poke my head into a radioactively charged lab" Via groaned "But how else was I supposed to-"

CRASH!

There was a flash of lights, the sound of horns, the smashing of metal.

Via, Tony and Happy all cried out in alarm as the car suddenly tilted, tumbling over and over like the insides of a washing machine as the large monstrous black metal thing rammed them from the side.

 _What the-ah!_

Via felt something heavy thud against the side of her head.

"Oww…" she winced as the car grinded to a halt upside down.

She could feel her head pounding, as both the obvious concussion, and the bloodflow to her head combined painfully.

Beside her she could hear Tony moaning in pain as he tried to stir, while Happy remained silent, breathing but unmistakably unconscious.

"Tony" Via groaned trying to reach out towards Tony who just managed to crack open an eye.

"Kid" he rasped.

There was the crunching of glass, and Via turned her head drowsily towards the source of the noise.

It was a pair of boots, dark thick and heavy. Both of whom belonging to a tall man with slicked back white blonde hair and black beady eyes.

"Why hello kid. Miss me?"

"Y-you" Via mumbled as the man crouched by the decimated car, reaching in to undo her seatbelt.

"J-Jarvis" Tony tried whispering hoarsely as he struggled to keep his eyes open. "J-Jarvis activate emergency protocol-code-"

"Nice try Stark" the white haired man smirked as he made to drag the now semi-conscious girl out of the car, her leg scratching itself against the broken glass.

"Tony" Via whimpered as she felt warm blood ooze from the large fresh gash in her leg. But it was no use, her vision was swimming, and slowly turning to darkness.

The last thing she heard before she completely fell into it was Tony's voice fading into the distance.

"Jarvis-M-mark IV acti-"

* * *

Stephen stared at the clock in his study.

It was nearly three. And still Olivia had not come back from Oscorp.

 _Perhaps the meeting is running over time._

He tried to assure himself as he poured over another Spell book before him. It was one of those that Via's mother Freyja had left behind in her inheritance.

It was an interesting tome, and an ancient one at that. Most of it was written in ancient Norse runes, all of which when collected to old nature magic, as well as the various interdimensional beings that could wield it.

He looked down at the illustration of the large Jotun frost giant, wondering vaguely how anyone could ever hope to survive an encounter with such a creature.

Or at least, how could a human survive an encounter with one when even Asgardians would have trouble taking them down.

He wondered vaguely who wrote the book and quickly turned to the front page, where a name was scrawled below the title.

"A-Alrik…of the house of Soren" he translated slowly eyeing the runes.

So…this was a book written by one of Via's ancestors.

 _Perhaps she should have this after all_

He thought guiltily as he flicked through the pages.

All of this was after all her family history. What right did he have to keep it locked away from her?

He felt something warm and wet tickle his fingers and jumped.

But it was only Buddy.

"Hey boy" Stephen sighed reaching out to rub the dogs shaggy head as it turned to look at the study door and then to the two chairs on the other side of the desk.

Stephen followed its gaze, watching amusedly as the animal quickly trotted over to one of the chairs, whining softly as he sniffed at it. It was, as Stephen had guessed, Via's favourite chair, and seeing as Buddy was most fond of her out of everyone in the sanctum, it stood to reason he'd like it the most.

"She'll be back soon" Stephen muttered as the animal turned its eyes worriedly on him.

He wasn't sure why, but the way that Buddy sometimes looked at him…it almost felt… human.

But maybe that was also him projecting his own worry onto the animal.

He turned back to the book, noticing as he did so that Buddy had settled himself by Via's chair, eyes round and morose.

Though he wouldn't admit it out loud, Stephen felt the same way too.

After all, he'd been nothing but worried since Via had left in the morning.

Something flashed in his minds eye.

"Ah!"

Buddy looked up worriedly as Stephen rubbed his temples.

But nothing he could do could shake off the small stabbing pains.

 _Annurism? Scarring of the brian tissue?_

His mind was racing for possible solutions, no matter how bizarre they seemed.

Yet even as he tried to make sense of everything, one thing stood out above all the rest.

Something had gone horribly wrong…

"Wong! Wong!"

There was a flurry of footsteps as Wong suddenly came thundering into the room.

"What is it Strange?" he growled, only to pause as he caught sight of Stephen's face.

It was as white as a sheet.

"Wong! It's Olivia. She's in trouble"

* * *

 **MUAHAHAHAHAHA! And that is where i leave you. Right on a nice big cliffy! XD**

 **sorry for the late update, life got in the way (ah pesky life XD).**

 **but anyways here's the long anticipated first meeting of Via and Peter Parker. Two spiders finally coming together for the first time on the page! Whoo! we finally got there! that being said i hope that i got the MCU's Peter Parker okay. I'm kinda waiting for Spider-man Homecoming to come out on DVD so i can have more of a reference to work from.**

 **I'm kinda thinking that he's a bit more shy and quieter then he is in Civil War and Homecoming, because he's not yet become spiderman and also because his uncle Ben's not dead (yet). I don't know about you guys but I sorta see these two events as the catalysts for MCU Peter to come out of his timid little shell and become the sassy web-slinger we all know.**

 **Anyways hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter and i hope it was worth the wait, and as always keep reading and reviewing for more.**

 **Cheers**

 **FuzzyBeta**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: A Huntin' and A Fishin'**

 _I wasn't sure how long I was out of it._

 _All I knew was that one minute I was being dragged out of Tony's decimated car and the next I was in a dark concrete basement of some building._

 _Alone._

 _I will admit, I was scared shitless. If someone could take out one of the world's greatest heroes with a car crash then what chance did I have of getting out of this situation alive._

 _It didn't help that the basement looked like something out of a horror movie._

* * *

Via sighed as she leaned back. She was strapped to a chair (which eerily looked like an old electric chair), in the middle of the darkened room.

It looked like a workshop with various tools and mechanical instruments scattered around different work benches. The most prominent one that caught her attention was a large crosscut saw, as it stuck upwards from a nearby plank of wood.

All it needed was blood along the blade and the horrific sight would be complete.

 _Okay…okay don't panic. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all of this-yeah right. like there is a reasonable explanation for crashing a billionaire's car and kidnapping his fourteen-year-old intern instead of him._

Via sucked in deep breaths as she continued to look around the space.

There were no windows, but there were air vents in a faraway corner above a bench. They were ridiculously tiny.

 _Well that's just great._

Via deflated in her chair, squirming as she tried to make her backside at least a little more comfortable, but it was no use. She might as well have been trying to make herself comfortable on a bed of nails.

She winced as she wiggled her chest, feeling her sling ring dig into the bottom of her left breast from where it had been stashed in her bra.

If only her hands were free…

There was the clicking of a lock and Via quickly stilled as she saw a door suddenly open from a darkened corner of the room.

"Ah, you're awake" a distinctly British voice called as the tall pale blonde head and beady eyes became visible in the dim light.

" _You_ " Via snarled at the man, nostrils flaring with rage as he sauntered over towards her.

"Y'know it's pretty rude calling someone just _you_ " he sneered.

"Well maybe I wouldn't have to if you just told me your name before oh queen o' England" Via rolled her eyes.

The man blinked at her in surprise, then began to chuckle.

"Ha-ha-ha! You're cute kid. I've chased and hunted you down for years and still you've got some sass in you"

"And I'll shove it up your ass if you don't answer my question" Via snapped, irked by the man's humour "Who are you?"

"Well I suppose it's only fair you should know who I am, considering I've known who you are for a very long time" The man chortled, as he tried to rein in his sniggers, his eyes gleaming hungrily as he took in her flushed but furious face.

"It's Craven, Cornelius Craven"

"Is that supposed to impress me?" Via snorted.

"It should." Cornelius's sneer widened.

Via felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as he stalked over towards her and leaned over her.

"Fourteen years…and finally we have you" his voice was low and husky as he drank in every inch of her face.

There was no lust in his expression…but the hunger of a predator that had it's prey snared in its trap and was waiting for the right moment to drag it into its waiting jaws.

" _We_?" Via gulped wishing she knew an illusion spell to hide her fear, but Cornelius ignored her as he reached out to caress her chin.

"Amazing how such a small infant can transform into a young woman in merely the span of a few years. I used to think you looked exactly like your mother…but…" his fingers dragged up the side of her cheek to rest at her temple "Now I can see a little of your father in there too…especially when you glare."

"What?" Via breathed as he pulled away, smirking.

"Hmmm…but enough chit chat. I've got a message to send to your dear Avenger friends. I'm sure they're all very worried about you."

He began to stalk off, his smirk widening as she started to yell at his back.

"Wait! What did you mean my father?! HEY!"

But it was too late. The door had already shut.

"Well that's just great" Via grumbled, pouting angrily as she tried to struggle again against her bonds. But it was no use.

 _F***K!_

She yelled in her brain, toes curling with frustration on the cold hard-

She stopped quickly as she looked down to the floor. Her legs were bound to the chair, but only at the thighs. Her feet too were bound, but only together and they were both flat on the floor.

 _Maybe just maybe…_

With a bracing breath she heaved her body forwards, being careful not to push herself too far.

 _That's it-just a little bit-there we go whoa!_

She teetered on her feet as she managed to lift the chair up into the air along with her slender behind.

Right, now she was up on her feet. Now what?

She felt her heart soar as she spotted the large crosscut saw again. Its serrated edge was gleaming as it stuck upright in the wood.

Sucking in a deep breath she bent her knees and heaved herself into a jump. It was short and resulted in her almost landing face first into the side of the table before her.

"Ow…" She winced as she fell to her knees. Great now her chin was grazed and stinging.

 _Gotta get back up to my feet…_

She heaved herself up only to have to stop when she felt the legs of the chair dig into the cement floor behind her.

"Well shit" she pouted, only to groan loudly as she felt her left shin throb.

She looked down and saw a small red dot staining through a large white plaster. She shut her eyes in defeat as the door to the room creaked open yet again.

"Vhat's this?" A man's deep thick Russian accented voice boomed.

"great…" she scowled as she felt a pair of rough hands grab at her hair and practically throw her back. She winced as she felt the chair land back on it's four legs. It was then she realized that the hard thing behind her ponytail was in fact a wall.

"You know there are less violent ways to treat a girl" She hissed as she caught sight of her new companion.

He was tall, muscled, with a dark shaggy head of hair, sideburns and thick beard. He was smoking a small cigarette and wearing a dark brown rawhide jacket with a black fur-lined hood.

She gulped as he took off his round sunglasses, revealing a pair of beady black eyes that narrowed as he smirked down at her.

"I am _so_ sorry. Where are my manners-"

"Obviously down in the sewer" Via blurted out before she could stop herself.

 _Along with the corpse of that fur's previous owner._

Her thoughts were interrupted by the strange man's deep chuckles.

"Heh! Cornelius said you had a mouth on you"

His hand swiped out in a hard punch.

Via grunted in surprise but otherwise her now bruised face remained scowling.

After all she'd been dealt worse hits in her life.

"So you have a fire in you do you?" the man raised his eyebrows obviously impressed by her resolve as she snarled.

"Untie me and I'll give you fire assho-"

Another punch, this time to her guts.

 _Crap he hits hard._

She added mentally taking note of the man's fur collar in the dim light.

No…that was real fur she was sure of it.

The sight of it put her painfully in mind of Buddy back at the Sanctum

 _Buddy…Stephen…Wong…Do they even know I'm missing?_

* * *

"Crap now we're in for it" Clint gulped as Stephen Strange stormed into Tony Stark's luxurious hospital suite at New York General Hospital, followed by a likewise fuming Wong.

The rest of the Avengers (Save Thor who was suspiciously missing) all shrank back guiltily from the door, all save Natasha who quickly put her self in Stephen's way, blocking him from the comatose Tony in his medical bed.

"He's still out of it" she growled pushing him back with one hand.

He was about to yell at her but was stopped quickly by Wong's glower and hand on his shoulder.

"Pass me the report" he instead clipped, holding out his hand.

Steve Rogers quickly handed him the clipboard at the end of the bed. Stephen took it, fiercely glaring down the paper as if it had offered him insult with each passing line he read.

"Minor lacerations, broken wrist, elbow and shoulder on the left side" he muttered turning over the page.

"The doctor's put him and Happy on some strong pain medication" Bruce Banner piped in quietly from where he was sitting by the open window.

"Which doctor?" Wong asked sharply.

"Christine Palmer" Bruce muttered. "You know her?"

"We were colleagues when I worked here" Stephen growled as he shoved the clipboard back in its spot at the end of Tony's bed "She's a good doctor. Stark and Mister Hogan should be in good hands"

He turned his glower on Steve.

"What happened?"

"We're not sure" Steve admitted running a hand through his hair "Happy, Tony and Via were supposed to be coming back from Oscorp. But then a truck smashed Tony's car from the side. We only arrived at the scene after we received Jarvis's distress signal but it was too late."

"And Olivia?"

"Was gone before we even got there" Natasha growled fists clenching angrily "Whoever orchestrated this obviously knew what they were doing. But until either Tony or Happy wakes up we won't know for sure"

"Can't you use Stark's AI to check the traffic cameras?" Wong suggested.

Clint nodded.

"We did. But it didn't really give us much."

"Then what did it give you?" Stephen growled, barely able to hold back his anger.

"Two people at least, driving a black armoured truck straight into Tony's car." Natasha provided stiffly "But they used their truck to block off the traffic camera so we didn't get to see what they looked like."

"Did you at least catch the number plate?" Wong asked quickly taking note of Stephen's ever paling face.

"it was an unregistered vehicle" Clint snorted "and it had tinted bullet proof glass so the camera's wouldn't be able to see their faces"

"And there was no other evidence you could find at the scene?" Wong narrowed his eyes.

"None. Not even a finger print" Clint grunted, only to quickly turn around to watch as Bruce stood to his feet abruptly and strode out the room, his stormy face tinted slightly green.

"I need some air" He growled, his voice strangely deeper than normal.

"Go to the rooftop. It should be empty during the day" Stephen muttered quietly as he and Wong allowed him to pass.

Bruce nodded at him in thanks as he stormed out of the room.

Once he was gone, Stephen turned back to the rest of the Avengers eyes narrowing slightly as he said:

"Someone's missing-"

"Thor" Steve explained eyes fixed on the door Bruce had just left through "he's out on a date with his girlfriend. We sent him a message so hopefully he should get here soon"

Despite his own bubbling anger, Stephen could not help but shudder slightly under the cold, calculating stare Natasha fixed him with as she looked him up and down.

"How well do you know Olivia?"

"What do you mean?" Stephen frowned in confusion.

"What Nat means is did she have any enemies, or people who wanted to harm her?" Clint provided helpfully.

"Unfortunately yes" Wong rolled his eyes "Olivia is the daughter of Freyja Sorenson after all. I daresay there must be many people who would want her dead if they knew about her-"

"And how many of those enemies know about her?" Natasha's eyes narrowed further still.

"We…we do not know" Wong admitted quietly "Olivia only came into our care less then a year ago. Up till then no one in our order even knew that Freyja had a daughter. Not even the Ancient One or Fabian Russo knew remember?" he glanced sidelong at Stephen who nodded quietly.

But his next words were interrupted by someone knocking on the door.

"Come in!" Clint called but Wong had already opened the door.

It was Thor, standing alongside a much shorter pair of brunette women. One Stephen instantly recognized as Jane Foster the astrophysicist, from Tony's party, though he had no idea who the other one was with the glasses.

And he had no time to find out as Thor barged in.

"My friend's I'm so sorry I'm late. We drove here as quickly as we could. What happened?"

Stephen had to marvel at the sight of the thunder god. He'd never thought he'd ever see such a big fierce yet jolly looking warrior look so worried before as he beheld Tony's unconscious form in the bed.

"By Odin, Friend Tony-"

"Tony's okay. He's just got a broken arm" Clint grunted "Happy's in the other room too. His leg's busted and he's got a dislocated shoulder."

"And young Lady Via? Where is she I do not see her here? She was supposed to be assisting Tony with his meeting was she not?" Thor looked around frantically for a sign of the young girl.

"We don't know." Steve shifted uncomfortably where he sat. "She appears to have been kidnapped"

Thor looked stunned.

So did Jane Foster and her brunette friend who blurted out:

"Kidnapped?! But who would want to kidnap a kid?"

"I'm sorry but who are you?" Stephen frowned at the young woman who blushed with embarrassment under his gaze.

"Darcy Lewis. M-my intern" Jane provided as she stepped forward awkwardly to shake his hand "I'm so sorry about your kid Doctor Strange. If there's anything we can do to help-"

"Thank you Doctor Foster" Stephen nodded quietly turning back to the room at large.

"How long ago was she abducted?".

"Three hours" Natasha explained, before adding under her breath "Three hours too long"

"She's strong though" Clint nodded firmly "She's got more guts than most kids her age…heck she's got more guts then most adults"

"You have no idea" Stephen snorted under his breath glancing out the window.

 _Barton's right. She's strong and she's smart. She'll keep herself alive as long as it takes for us to find her…_

 _But what if she can't this time?_

The small horrible voice piped in from the back of his head.

 _What if she's really scared this time? Like how she was when…when…_

His heart sank like a stone as he remembered the look on her face that day in the café when she saw that man. The man with the white blonde hair and black beady eyes.

"Wait…there might be one person who might've…" he trailed off rubbing his forehead as everyone turned to look at him. "A couple of weeks ago …Via and I…ran into someone at a café-"

"Who?" Natasha clipped.

"I don't know his name." Stephen admitted "But he was tall…had white blonde hair-"

"And small black eyes?" Thor finished.

"How on Earth did you know that?" Stephen blinked in surprise at the thunder god who's brow furrowed as he scowled.

"I saw him…that very day when I bumped into her on the street. She was running from him. She looked frightened."

"Right and this was…"

"A few days before Stark's party. At the Café DuPont" Stephen said only to cringe as Darcy Lewis suddenly exclaimed excitedly.

"Hey I know that place they do like, some of the best waffles-sorry" she mumbled as Jane elbowed her hard in the ribs.

"Café DuPont huh?" Clint frowned exchanging a look with Natasha who reached for Tony's phone that was set by his bedside.

"Hold that thought."

* * *

"Having fun Sergei?"

"Oh yes. Lots" Sergei Craven smirked as he pulled his fist back from his victim.

Via glared up at him through a haze of sweat and blood. He'd been hitting her hard for ten minutes. Mostly body, with a couple of hits to the face if she got too mouthy.

She supposed she should be glad he was just punching her. She was used to beatings, she knew how to survive them. As for dealing with kidnappings…well she was still learning the ropes.

 _Now if only I knew why they wanted me here_

She narrowed her eyes as Cornelius Craven spared her an amused snort.

"Still got the fight in you I see. That's good."

Via snarled at him, but stayed silent. She wasn't going to give these men any more satisfaction from her pain. Besides she needed to start thinking of a way to get out of this room.

She tensed as Cornelius came up close to her and knelt by her legs.

"Come on. We've got to move if we're going to meet our deadline"

"Already?" Sergei scowled as he watched his brother untie the girl's legs and waist. He was quick to restrain her arms making sure to bind her hands with duck tape so that they could barely move an inch.

Via just watched him. For one thing she was too tired to attempt to fight back, and for another she was checking out his weapons on his person.

He was wearing a bullet proof vest underneath his large trench coat, along with an arsenal of firearms loaded on several holsters and belts. Then there were the knives he had stashed away on his legs…and a phone buzzing in his pocket.

"Maybe you should get that" she muttered darkly and Cornelius rolled his eyes.

"Get up!" he dragged her up to her feet. Her legs ached, and she felt her bandaged shin throb painfully as she was thrust towards Sergei.

Cornelius picked up his phone.

"Yes…Yes Baron we have her. Yes…yes…we're about to make the transfer now. We'll call you when we reach the base in a couple of hours. Right!" he turned back to Sergei and Via with a small smirk.

"Time to move it. You have the car ready?"

"All packed. With enough space in the back for _this_ " Sergei ruffled Via's curls roughly only to quickly retract his hand as she made to snap at it with her teeth.

"Ooh! Look, it looks like the little kitten's got bite" Sergei chuckled amusedly

"I'd keep those teeth in if I were you kid" Cornelius snorted reaching out to stroke under her chin "Unless you want us to knock them out for you. I'd hate such a pretty smile to be ruined"

If looks could kill, Via's own death stare up at her kidnapper could've massacred an entire battlefield with a single glance.

But she stayed silent, her brain whirring as she desperately tried piecing together all the information she just heard.

So…these guys worked for a man called the _Baron_. A man who obviously had money or power or something at his disposal if he told them to meet him at a secret base.

That only made her inner panic grow. What would happen now? Would someone come and rescue her? Of course Stephen or Wong would kick up a fuss seeing as she hadn't come home yet (She hoped). And the other Avengers must've heard about the accident with Tony's car…Yet Cornelius and Sergei both seemed very relaxed about the whole situation.

 _No one probably knows of their existence, let alone the fact they kidnapped me._

She deflated as a large piece of cloth suddenly came over her eyes.

 _I guess I can only dream that someone will come and…and…_

"Come on get a move on!" Sergei pushed her forwards roughly, forcing her to walk, not noticing the small darting of her eyes under their blindfold as she thought of a plan.

It was risky…but it was better than nothing.

 _Now will it work? That's the question…_

She was quiet as she was shoved into the back of a large dark van, quickly curling herself into a ball on the floor and shutting her eyes. It was a good thing she was tired from all those punches, or else she'd have a really hard time doing this…

She shut her eyes and smirked softly to herself when she heard an old woman's voice inside her head.

 _"Seeking me out on your own…my-my you must be desperate."_

 _"Fala…please now's not the time…I really need your help…"_

* * *

Darkness…

That was all he could see.

Darkness, cold… his arm was hurting him.

His chest felt constricted like a snake was wrapped around and crushing him.

And yet he felt calm.

He could feel the small familiar warm disc of heat whirring in his chest with every breath as he opened his eyes.

He was floating in blackness, but he could strangely enough see his own hand in front of his face as clearly as if a lightbulb was on.

"Weird…" Tony Stark blinked as his own voice echoed around him in the strange space.

He wondered vaguely where he was.

There was a mass of what looked like rock above his head, but it couldn't be rock because it was constantly changing shape like some kind of slimy play-dough.

He looked down at his body.

He was only wearing a hospital gown and his underwear.

 _Well that explains why it's so breezy._

He rolled his eyes to himself as he pulled his body up to sit…or rather float…it was odd. He wondered vaguely if this was what astronauts felt like in zero gravity.

"Tony!"

His head whipped around as the voice echoed around him.

But he saw no one there.

"Who's there?!" he yelled, unnerved as his own voice answered as it bounced off the fluid shapes around him.

"Who's there…who's there…who's there…"

They faded into silence.

A shiver ran up his spine and for the first time since he opened his eyes, the man of iron felt afraid. He was floating in a strange place without his suit or any of his gadgets. There was no such thing as gravity to anchor himself to anything and he was only wearing his underwear and a flimsy piece of cloth to cover himself.

He gulped as he heard the second voice's distant yell once more.

"TONY! Tony can you hear me?!"

It was closer this time and louder…it was, he also noted, distinctly female.

"Hello?!" he called fists clenching as he spun around on the spot in mid…air? Was he floating in air at the moment? It was all too confusing.

Then came the exclamation.

"Tony! Down here-wait I mean up! Up here!"

Tony looked up.

There hovering upside down above his head was a girl with bright blonde curls wearing a bloodstained white and blue dress.

"Kid!" he called relief flooding him as she quickly flicked out her hand. From her palm, a golden web of energy shot out, quickly snagging the billionaire's hand and dragging him upwards.

"Whoa!" he cried out as suddenly the world around him tilted and he landed hard on the solid (yet fluid) rock below…or was that above.

"Ow…" he grunted as he rolled over onto his back.

"Easy there old man" Via grabbed his shoulder to steady him as he sat up. "You need to take it slow…get your bearings"

"Right…got it…" Tony coughed as he felt his vision swim a little before his eyes. "Where the hell are we? What happened? Happy and the Car-"

"We're in the Dream Dimension" Via explained patting his back as he almost choked on his coughs.

"Dream Dimension?" Tony spluttered in shock. "But how-I thought that guy took you-"

"He did" Via cut him off as she leant back to sit down.

"His name is Cornelius Craven. He and his brother Sergei Craven mowed us down from the side when Happy was driving. They kidnapped me and left you both for dead. Don't worry" She added when Tony's face paled dramatically "You're not dead. You wouldn't be here if you weren't. You're probably just unconscious in the physical world."

"Oh…right…" Tony sighed in relief only to frown. "Wait so if I'm unconscious, and you're kidnapped how were you able to find me here?"

"The Web of Asibikaashi" Via pulled out the golden and blue glowing dream catcher pendant from inside her dress. "It lets me access the Dream Dimension remember?"

"Oh…right? And your captors do they know about all-" Tony gestured wildly to her relic.

"Please, I do know how to keep a few things secret" She smirked smugly at him, but he wasn't so pleased as he looked at her dirtied dress and bruised face.

"I'm okay" she mumbled wiping a drop of blood from the corner of her mouth "I've taken worse hits before. Besides if they wanted to kill me they would've killed me at the car and made it look like part of the accident. They want me alive, that's why they're taking me to some secret base"

"Right…and where would that be exactly?" Tony frowned gravely.

"No clue" Via huffed crossing her legs "But last I saw I think I'm still in New York for the moment. But they may be taking me out of the city. They said it would only take a couple of hours driving to reach their base so it can't be that far."

"That depends on which direction they want to take you" Tony grumbled "By car it wouldn't be that far…but if they took you by plane or sea…that could-ugh! Complicate things" he gripped his aching arm.

It felt odd. It looked normal and it functioned normally, but it hurt like it was fractured.

"You've probably broken it in the physical world" Via snorted. "In the Dream Dimension you can usually take the form of whatever you want, or whatever you last remember of yourself. However the injuries you get in the physical world still find ways to manifest themselves somehow. Usually in the form of pain."

"How lovely" Tony deadpanned only to wince as he heard a voice rattle inside his head.

"Tony! Oh god Tony"

"Pepper?" he wondered aloud, looking all about himself and Via, who's eyes softened in sympathy.

"She must be trying to wake you up" she reasoned softly as she stood to her feet. "You should probably listen to her. Stay in here too long and you'll slip into a coma."

"Wait what about you?" Tony grabbed her arm. "When you wake up those guys will still have you-"

Via smirked.

"Yeah, call me egotistic but I'm pretty good at staying alive. Street rat remember?"

Despite himself, Tony found himself grinning.

"Kid you really are full of surprises"

"You have no idea Old man" Via rolled her eyes as she began to move her hands around. "Now…just sit back and relax"

"What are you gonna do?" Tony frowned as he caught sight of the golden web like structure suddenly materialize between her fingers.

"Wake you up. Now just stay very still. I need to concentrate"

"Have you ever done this before?" Tony gulped only to start sweating a little as she shook her head.

"Nope…but there's a first time for everything."

And with that she pushed her glowing hands forwards.

"WHOA!"

* * *

"Get back!" Steve Rogers quickly pulled a frantic Pepper Potts back as Tony Stark's eyes flew open with a loud gasp. In the centre of his chest, his arc reactor suddenly glowed a strange golden colour before whirring back into its usual bright white blue as its owner flopped back exhausted onto the medical bed.

"Step back, let me through" Stephen Strange strode over to the other side of the billionaire's bed just as he began opening his eyes again.

"Ow!" Tony winced as with swift medical professionalism, Stephen began checking his eyes with a tiny flashlight, before turning to inspect his vitals.

"St-Strange?" Tony coughed.

"Good Morning Stark. Had a good nap?" Stephen sneered down upon him before turning back to the room at large "He's good. Everything seems fine…for now" he added glowering down at Tony who he pushed back into the bed.

"Well aren't you a bright ray of sunshine" Tony groused as Pepper came dashing to his side, a glass of water ready in her hands. He drank it eagerly, vaguely aware of his arm in the cast and sling.

So it was broken, that explained a lot.

"Welcome back to the world of the living my friend" Thor patted his shoulder.

"It's good to be back." Tony admitted nodding to the rest of his team who now stood at the foot of his bed. But he only had eyes for the retreating backs of Wong and Stephen Strange.

"Via's okay"

The room froze, but no one looked more shocked then Stephen and Wong who both glanced at one another before glaring at him.

"What do you mean she's okay?" Stephen snarled fists clenching as the cloak of levitation tightened its grip around his shoulders "She's been kidnapped right under your nose!"

"I know. But I saw her-I spoke to her. She's okay."

"Saw her? But Tony…you've been unconscious" Bruce blinked between the billionaire and doctor, the latter of whom suddenly sucked in a deep breath as understanding dawned on him.

"You mean you saw her in your head…just now?"

Tony nodded.

"It's that web thing she wears around her neck. She said it allowed her to get into my dreams. Damn my head-"

"The Web of Asibikaashi." Wong sighed in relief running a hand over his bald head "She must still have it on her-"

"Wait are you talking about the dreamcatcher?" Steve stood up quickly.

"She must be using it to SOS" Stephen nodded his anger deflating as desperation overtook.

"So she's alive?" Clint looked at Tony who nodded.

"Yeah…she's a bit battered but she's alright. Said the guys that have her are trying to transport her out of the city somehow."

"Does she know who they are? Or what they look like?" Natasha asked swiftly and Tony nodded.

"Said their names were …Conroy Craven… or was it Conner? No it wasn't that either" Tony rubbed his temple "It was something with C-"

"Cornelius Craven" Natasha finished softly.

"You know this guy?" Steve looked at her concernedly. Whenever the black widow spoke in that voice it never boded well for anyone.

"Oh yeah…I know of him…and his brother" she muttered darkly as she exchanged a very dark look with Clint who coughed and pulled up a hologram from Tony's phone.

"The Kravenoff brothers, also known as The Hunters. Top assassins, some of the best in their field at tracking and experts at hand to hand combat and professional marksmen-"

And with that he pulled up images of their faces.

"That's him!" Thor bellowed loudly pointing at the pale beady eyed white blonde-haired face on the left "That's the man I saw in pursuit of our friend"

"Cornelius. Master Tactician. The brains of the pair. Good tech skills. He manages a lot of the behind the scenes. His younger brother Sergei, the more active of the two, prefers field work but still knowledgeable on human and animal anatomy. So he's not a fighter to be taken lightly" Natasha pointed to the dark haired brother who likewise had the black beady eyes of his brother, though his seemed more savage and wild.

"They're tricky enough to deal with on their own," Clint grunted as he pulled up files on the brothers exploits "But together they're a lethal team. You'll be hard pressed to find partners in crime as smooth and in tune as they are with one another. But that's not the worst bit."

Clint pressed the phone screen which brought up a holographic image. One that made the blood of every single person present turn to ice.

A black skull with tentacles, encircled in red.

"Hydra" Steve rubbed his face in his hands.

"You've got to be kidding me" Wong groaned.

"You know of them?" Stephen blinked perplexed.

"They're an authoritarian terrorist-criminal-paramilitary organization hell bent on world domination" Tony grunted as he pressed a button to shift his bed into a sitting position.

"Capsicle here fought them off first back in World War Two, but they kept themselves operational in secret until Cap fought them off again a few months back. Though I have no idea of how you magicians know of them" he glanced at Wong who scowled.

"Because, Hydra are the last remnants of an old cult we sorcerers have tried to keep at bay for millennia. They've been responsible for the deaths of many of our masters and the disappearances of various relics over the past few centuries"

"Then why am I only hearing of them now?" Stephen snapped waspishly.

"Because they've only recently become active and public in the past few recent months" Natasha explained quietly as she began to pace slowly in front of her chair thoughtfully.

"If Via was able to reach out to us in her dream then its obvious she's at least healthy enough to use her magic. And the fact that Tony said that she was mostly alright mean that they want her in one piece-"

"But that could also mean something worse" Steve muttered, his blue eyes hardening as he glanced at Wong "You said her mother had a lot of enemies…"

"Yes. But no one knew that Via even existed until this year" Wong explained only to be stopped by Stephen shaking his head.

"No…he knew. This Cornelius knew."

"And you figure this because?" Bruce frowned.

"Because Olivia told me so herself" Stephen shut his eyes, cursing himself and his own stupidity "She told me the day after he chased her. He'd apparently found her at the orphanage two years ago, tried to take her away. But then she ran away from him before he could get his hands on her. Said she knew that if she went with him she knew that he'd do something horrible to her."

"Smart girl" Natasha murmured, and Stephen was surprised to hear admiration laced in the spy's voice "She obviously has good instincts then. Because the Kravenoff brothers are not easy people to hide from, even without the Hydra resources."

"But if she was able to stay hidden from them for two years, how on earth could they have found out about her now?" Pepper asked worriedly, exchanging a glance with Darcy and Jane who were standing towards the back of the room, observing quietly.

"They must be friendly with the caretakers at her old Orphanage" Wong murmured glancing sidelong at Stephen "You remember what Via said-"

"Yes I remember." Stephen growled darkly hands curling into painful fists "SHIT! They must've figured out where she was the minute we sent that request for the adoption papers!"

"You couldn't have known-" Bruce tried to console them but Stephen just swore again loudly, magical energy sparking off dangerously at his fingertips in his anguish.

"But I f—ing should've! Olivia always hated that place. She HATED it. And she was always so afraid of going back there after everything they did to her. And I led them right to her after promising her she'd be safe from them-"

"I doubt it." Natasha snorted "the Kravenoff's are persistent. They would've found her sooner or later. Once the Kravenoff brothers set their minds to a mission they're difficult to shake off. And since she became Tony's intern her face would've been plastered on the front of newspapers. It was only a matter of time before they found her again"

"So now what do we do?" Thor spun his hammer Mjolnir in his hands.

"It's obvious isn't it?" Tony smirked from his bed "I think it's time we make a little house call to Hope Haven Orphanage and see what they have to say about their little hunter friends"

"I'll come with you." Stephen straightened up "I think it's high time I saw these people for myself. Wong go back to the Sanctum and alert the other masters. Tell them I won't be able to make it to the meeting tonight"

"Of course. I'm sure they'll understand given the circumstances. But keep us in the loop alright. The masters won't take it lightly if something were to happen to the last remaining heir of the Sorenson line" he gave a very pointed look to all the Avengers who all bristled uncomfortably at the threat. All save Thor who bowed respectfully at the two sorcerers.

"Worry not Master Wong. You and your fellow masters can be assured my friends and I will do everything in our power to rescue Lady Via and bring her back to you safe and sound"

"We shall see…but Thank you." Wong grunted gruffly as he turned on his heel and walk straight out the door.

"Such a charming fellow isn't he?" Tony deadpanned as soon as the door was shut only to wither under the stern glower from Strange and his teammates.

"Sorry…now come on. We've got a rescue to plan"

* * *

When Via opened her eyes, it was to find the ceiling of her captor's van staring back down at her above.

 _We're still driving?_

She winced as she gingerly sat up, nursing her now very sore bruised side.

"Well good evening Sleeping Beauty. Had a nice nap?"

"Oh crap you're both still alive" Via groaned as she looked to the front of the vehicle and saw through the dividing cage, Sergei and Cornelius Craven smirking at her in the rear view mirror.

"Still got a mouth on you" Sergei snorted derisively at his brother as she bared her teeth in a snarl at them. "There what did I tell you, wild like a yearling"

"She gets that from her father's side I suppose" Cornelius sneered "Her mother wasn't nearly so vicious when she was in our care"

"You knew my parents?" Via breathed, heart stilling as the two men chuckled darkly.

"Oh yes we knew them. Your mother was quite the beauty back in her day" Cornelius smirked.

"You say that but she could crack quite a punch. Do you remember what she did to Farrah?" Sergei guffawed "I swear the poor idiot couldn't sit for a weak he was in such agony"

"I bet he deserved it" Via snapped bitterly.

"Oh he did" Cornelius agreed keeping his eyes trained on the front window of the car on which small flecks of rain had started to fall. Outside Via could see a green countryside flying past the windows. They were on a highway outside the city…and if that GPS tracker on the dashboard was to be believed they were somewhere in Pennsylvania.

"Sorry kid but window privileges are for well-behaved little girls. Not prisoners" and with that a black sheet of glass suddenly slid up in front of the cage divider, blocking off all light from the front and plunging her into darkness.

Via slid back down the wall of the van sighing heavily as she examined her wrists. Asmund and Brynja were both glowing faintly, both purring at her soothingly.

Well…at least she wasn't alone and that was some comfort…

But not much.

She was in a car, on a freeway outside of New York, kidnapped and far from home…

 _Home…_

She felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes.

It had been the first time since she'd moved in that she'd thought of the Sanctum as home. But there was just no other word that seemed to fit what it was. That precious sanctuary with Stephen, Buddy and Wong…and then there was the tower. A home away from home…

She'd only known them a few weeks but already she liked being with the Avengers. They were such interesting kind people, and that was when they weren't saving the world as superheroes.

And speaking of powerful people…

She shut her eyes as a memory of a tall bald woman in dark blue and gold smiling kindly down at her as she tried to conjure her first ever spell all those months ago.

"I wish you were here" she whispered under her breath. "You'd know what to do, wouldn't you. You always knew…"

She blinked as she felt a bead of wet salt dribble down her cheek and quickly scrubbed it off.

No.

No she wasn't going to cry.

Yes. She was scared. Yes, she was far away from home.

"I'm not going to die here" she muttered, sucking in a deep breath as her fists clenched.

"I am NOT going to die here. Not like this. I didn't die when Kaesilius and Russo attacked. I didn't die when Dormammu nearly came to the human world. And I sure as hell won't die for these mundane non-magical asses."

 _So what are you going to do then child?_

Asmund growled fiercely in her head.

 _I'm going to get back home if it's the last thing I'll do. I'm Olivia Freyja Sorenson. The last heir of the Sorenson Line. I am the Spider Sorceress, Defender of the Dream Dimension, Relic Hunter of the Avengers, Apprentice to the next Sorcerer Supreme. I'm not going to let these bastards take me down without a fight!_

She looked down to her bound hands, a defiant glare flashing over her blue eyes as she saw they were bound with duck tape.

 _Now to get out of these bonds…_

She brought her hands to her face and began gnawing at the tape. It tasted foul and she spat it out.

 _Too thick. Maybe if I tried tearing my hands apart._

She grimaced as she spat out the last remnants of tape from her mouth. Gingerly she brought her hands above her head stretching them as high as she could.

It was, she noted interestedly, strangely similar to having someone grabbing her hands in sparring.

 _Now what did Mordo once say about breaking holds?_

She frowned to herself as she tried to pull her hands apart, though the memory did leave a sting as she thought back to her old mentor's face. She quickly shook out her head. No, she could feel sorry for herself later. Right now she had to escape.

She reached up further still sucked in a deep breath, then swung her arms down in front of her pulling them apart as they curved on the arc down.

The tape didn't break, but it did stretch quite a bit.

"Come on…" she grunted as she pulled her arms apart.

Bit by bit the tape stretched, painfully digging into her flesh until she could hold feel its elasticity straining.

"Argh!" she growled in frustration as with one final tug, she wrenched her hands apart. There was a horrible ripping sound as the tape finally gave way and she cried out in pain as her elbows smashed hard into the wall behind her.

"Hey! Keep it down back there brat!" Sergei snarled from the other side of the glass, wrapping it sharply with his knuckles.

Via quickly curled herself up into a ball, pretending to be asleep in case the glass slid down, but nothing happened.

They must've thought she was hitting the wall and complaining like any other hostage.

 _Well…the jokes on them_

She smirked as she carefully crouched low to the floor, doing her best to keep her balance on her injured leg as the car bumped along the road.

 _Easy Via nice and steady._

She looked down to the web of Asibikaashi on her chest and began to creep along the floor, carefully making her way to the walls and then up onto the ceiling.

Once she was secured she lifted up one hand concentrating with all her might on bending the faint mystical energies she felt in the air around her.

She knew the unlocking spell like the back of her hand, but had never used it on a car or vehicle before. It was usually applied to the traditional lock and key.

But she knew it would work, she just had to concentrate hard enough.

She sucked in a deep breath.

Meanwhile at the front of the car, Sergei was talking to his brother.

"I still don't see why we're bringing her in for Strucker when our new _friend_ clearly has plans for her"

"Plans that also involve Strucker's ideas" Cornelius drawled "Unlike the Baron, our new friend has bigger dreams, and is not afraid to outsource ideas to get what they want"

"I don't know brother" Sergei puffed out smoke as he lit up another cigarette "I don't like the idea so much"

"When you meet her you'll understand" Cornelius frowned in disgust "And if you're going to smoke would you at least open a window. That stuff stinks"

"You sound just like mother" Sergei complained bitterly, but nonetheless opened the window, only to jump as something began beeping from the dashboard.

Both he and Cornelius looked quickly to a touch screen pad installed in the car system which was showing them an image of the van's layout on which the two back doors flashed red.

 _Warning: Unauthorized breach._

"Shit! What's going on?" Sergei cursed as Cornelius quickly slammed his foot down on the breaks.

The van screeched to a hard halt, filling the air with the sounds and smell of hot burning rubber, that steamed a little in the overcast, drizzling skies. But the brothers didn't care for either as they hopped out their doors and quickly dashed to the back of their vehicle, only to curse at the sight that met them.

The like their computer had shown, the doors to the back had been opened, revealing the inside of the van which was dark, but unmistakably empty.

"SHIT! That little-" Sergei swore loudly his Russian accent thickening as he began cursing in his mother tongue.

Cornelius likewise was furious, but held in his anger as he shrewdly examined the doors.

It was odd.

There was no sign of them being forced. No sign of any dents from something trying to break out.

So how-

There was the scuffling of something on gravel and both brothers looked around the van just in time to see something small and blond quickly roll to their feet on the road and start running.

"That little-I'll kill her!" Sergei snarled but Cornelius growled.

"Don't kill her we need her alive! You run I'll drive"

Sergei did as he was told and began dashing after the girl who was already sprinting her way off the highway and towards the fields of grass towards a large dark tree line.

 _Gotta run! Gotta run! Get to the trees! I can use the web to climb the trees!_

Via felt her legs flying beneath her as she all but ran for her life.

She'd never run this fast before.

Never. Not even when she'd had to run from Kaesilius through the mirror dimension barely a month ago.

She could hear Sergei running behind her, slowly but surely catching up.

He was taller, his legs were longer and stronger, not to mention unblemished and whole, where as she was much smaller and her shin was almost killing her from the pain.

The rain was beating down heavily on her by the time she reached the forest edge, but she still pushed on. As carefully as she dared she launched herself for the nearest tree, crying out in terror as she heard a gunshot being fired in her direction.

Without thinking she flung her open palm out towards the higher branches of a neighbouring tree, begging for her golden webs to hit the mark.

They did and quickly she tugged on it, letting it sling shot her into the next tree, and the next, and the next.

"Shit! Shit-shit-shit-shit-shit!" she squeaked as the gun shots followed her through the foliage, one of them grazing her hip as it flew in a blast through the air, followed in rapid succession by another few rounds.

 _A machine gun?! These bastards have a machine gun?!_

Via's heart hammered with terror as the machine gun let off another few hundred rounds somewhere close to her feet, most of them breaking apart the very structure of each of the branches she was running across so that she was practically leaping off every single one of them before they fell to the ground.

She had just about run over what felt like her hundredth tree when she saw it. A glimpse of grey through the trees.

 _A lake?_

She thought wildly as she finally came up to the edge of the tree branch, only to find herself standing at a tall drop away from a wall of dark water. It looked like glass, hard, smooth and very cold.

There was the thudding of heavy footsteps and Via looked down to see both Sergei and Cornelius Craven both smirking up at her from the base of her tree.

"There's nowhere to hide little girl!" Sergei hissed "Give it up now before you hurt yourself more"

"I'd rather drown then go anywhere with you!" Via spat, and without further ado she leapt off the branch.

And crashed straight into the water.

She was right, it was very cold.

And very deep…

 _Stupid! I'm so F-ing Stupid!_

She gasped as she struggled and splashed about in a futile attempt to keep herself afloat.

She'd forgotten she didn't know how to swim.

Forgotten in her stupid haste to get away, that she didn't even know how to tread water, or even float on her back or heck, even doggy paddle.

She choked as she felt water slip and splash down her throat, its icy coldness soaking her both inside and out as she slowly descended below the water's surface

She clawed at the grey light that came from above, desperately struggling to reach back up to the surface as her lungs began to burn and bubbles began to escape her mouth and nose.

Then, just as she could feel black dots begin to obscure her vision, she felt something large grab her from behind.

She struggled against the large thick muscled arms even as they made to drag her head up above the surface of the water.

"-miserable guttersnipe. Now you've ruined my jacket!" a russian accented voice growled in her ear as it popped back to life, along with the rest of her.

"LET GO OF ME!" She screeched but Sergei Kravenoff had had enough.

"That's it! You leave me no choice" he snarled and still treading water, he jabbed something sharp into her neck.

Via cried out in pain as she felt something liquid forced into her bloodstream, only for her scream to die in her throat as her mind quickly faded into black.

The last thing she saw as she was dragged from the water, was a pair of beady black eyes glaring down menacingly at her as a british voice sneered.

"You really are quite a handful kid. You better be worth what I'm getting paid."

And with that she knew nothing more.

* * *

 **And there we have another chapter of Dreamchaser.**

 **Sorry for the long wait. Work and Uni just both catching up with me (end of my final semester plus starting out at two new jobs really do a number on your creativity) so anyways i was inspired after spending an awesome weekend at OZ comic-con in Sydney where I volunteered for my third year. Seriously i had a blast but it's also very exhausting you're practically on your hours from dawn till dusk (and i'm not kidding I actually mean a literal dawn till dusk). Otherwise** **i got to meet some amazing people and got to see some great stuff so it was well worth it. Hopefully in my future i get to go to San Diego Comic Con at some point.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and i look forward to writing more when my life calms down a bit more.**

 **Well, you guys know the drill, keep reading and reviewing for more :D**

 **Cheers**

 **FuzzyBeta**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Cut off One Head, Two more take its place**

 _After my stupid failed attempt of escape I was knocked out for god knows how long again._

 _When I woke up it was to find myself in a small prison cell with many security cameras._

 _I was scared. More scared then ever. Especially when I saw the small band aid on my arm that had certainly not been there before._

* * *

A puncture mark.

Via gulped as she inspected the tiny red dot of puckered skin that she had just uncovered.

Someone had stuck a needle in her.

A big one.

She knew there was one on her neck from where Sergei Kravenoff had sedated her, but she didn't know where this one on her arm had come from.

The thought made her shiver as she curled into a ball on her hard, little cot.

The room was barren, with only a single hard cot with a thin mattress, pillow and rough itchy blanket. In the corner were several soft plastic water bottles and a small bucket to piss and do her business in.

This hadn't been the worst living situation Via had faced, but it was certainly the most chilling. Even living in the cold street gutter felt more pleasant than this. At least out there she had people on the street to look at to pass the time.

Despite her attempts to keep stubbornly snarky, she could feel her eyes burn, threatening to spill over as her fear began to reach new heights. She had been captured by two men she knew next to nothing about, and now…now who knew what was going to happen to her?

These men obviously needed her alive. But for what? And to what end?

Would they torture her? Experiment on her? Rape her? Rip her mind apart bit by bit?

She was so afraid that she almost wished that they **did** want to kill her.

She wasn't afraid of death.

She had faced it so many times before and so often it seemed a kinder alternative to all the other horrors of the world.

The only thing that even remotely eased her mind was seeing that she was still wearing all her old clothes, including all her relics.

 _So…they still think these are just toys or trinkets huh?_

She mused as she looked down at her dragon bracelets on her wrists, before checking down the front of her now ruined dress. She could still see the Web of Asibikaashi sitting over her breast. However, her sling ring was nowhere to be found.

 _It must've fallen out when I was on the run_

She reasoned dully, heart sinking as she sat up and inspected her shin. The bandage on it had been changed and was fresh and white and clean. Also it seemed to hurt a lot less.

Wherever she was now, they obviously needed her in one piece

She bit down on her tongue when she heard the locks on the nearby door start to shift and jumped to her feet fists clenched as it opened.

A man stepped through, dressed in dark tactical gear. It wasn't either one of the Craven brothers, but she could tell by the way he walked (and the way he held his gun) that he was not someone she would mess with…at least not yet.

"Oh good, you're awake" he smirked as she glared at him before looking over his shoulder. Through the door she could see the shadows of several other armed men, all taller and bigger than she.

"Not talking huh? What's the matter kid, cat got your tongue?" the man snorted.

"Where am I?" Via narrowed her eyes at him.

"Hell, kid. You're in hell" the man smirked reaching forwards to grab her by the arm, only to wince as she swiped him away.

"I can walk by myself thanks" she growled straightening herself up to her fullest height…which only brought her to the man's chest height.

"Fine then. But one step out of line…" he paused, jerking his gun in his arms.

"You won't shoot me" Via folded her arms "Otherwise capturing me would've been a waste of your time and resources"

"Don't get smart, kid. Now move!" the man grabbed at her and shoved her towards the door.

She desperately wanted to swear at him but bit her tongue as she caught sight of all the guns surrounding her. However, she didn't hold back on the mutinous glower as she squared out her shoulders and strutted in between all the men.

She might've been their captive, but she was NOT going to be the whimpering, trembling damsel in distress.

As she walked she kept tabs on the corridors but found to her dismay that they were depressingly monotonous and grey. All doors had been closed, and if any were opened they were quickly shut before she could get a peek in. The only thing that did seem to change was the cleanliness as they ascended several flights of stairs.

The place her cell was seemed to be the "dungeon", and had been grey and slightly grimy. But the higher up in the facility (or wherever they were) the cleaner all the surfaces became.

Instinctively she rubbed at Asmund and Brynja on her wrists as they stopped outside a tall polished metal door with a hand print scanner on the side.

The leader of the guards stepped forwards and pressed a button at the top of the machine and hissed:

"Franco here. We've brought the girl"

"Come in" a deep gruff voice snapped on the other end of the crackling line.

There was a beep as the man, Franco, slid off his glove and put his bare hand on the pad, which flashed green before unlocking and swinging forwards on its own.

Via felt the cold point of a gun at her back and begrudgingly allowed herself to be pushed forwards after Franco's footsteps.

They were in what appeared to be a large spacious office with a wall of glass separating the outside world from the room. On a small clock on a desk, it read ten am.

Via winced as the artificial light from the lamp illuminated the room and the dark night stormy skies outside, but was quick to recover as she caught sight of the shadow by the window.

He was tall, heavily built Hispanic man with a bald head, a nose and eyebrow piercing and had a tattoo of what appeared to be a serpent's tail coiled around his neck. Had Via not seen him in his suit and shirt, she might've thought him another brute in the street. But there was something in the way he held himself that told her he was so much more than just a thug.

He rolled his dark eyes in exasperation as he caught sight of the girl amidst all the soldiers.

"What is this? Ten men for just one measly girl?" he made a shooing motion to the guards.

"Forgive us Alphard" Franco nodded respectfully "But given the report Kravenoff gave I thought we shouldn't take a risk with this one."

"I'll be the judge of that Franco. Now leave us" the man glowered at him.

Franco bristled uncomfortably, but acquiesced, keeping his eyes trained on Via as he and his men stalked out the door, which shut behind them with a resounding snap.

"Olivia Sorenson" the man, Alphard, smirked down at her wide. "To think that I should've lived to see the day…You're taller than I thought you'd be…"

"Funny, you're shorter than I thought you'd be" Via spat out before she could stop herself.

 _Damn me and my big mouth_

She cursed, stiffening as Alphard chuckled amusedly.

"ha-ha. Kravenoff was right, you do have spunk."

There was a beeping sound and Alphard turned his head to one of the walls where a panel had slid up.

Via followed his gaze and noticed what appeared to be a steaming plate of food sitting inside an electronic dumb-waiter.

"Chile-Rubbed Steak with Creamed Corn" Alphard smirked as he heard the young teenager's stomach warble on its own accord. "I figured a young growing girl like you must be hungry after such an ordeal"

Despite her stomach demanding her to demolish the plate of hot steaming, delicious smelling food, Via stood her ground and growled.

"I'm not hungry"

"All evidence to the contrary" Alphard snorted placing the plate of food on his desk as her stomach grumbled loudly again.

"How do I know you haven't drugged it?" Via scowled.

"Because I didn't hire the two best hunters in the business just so I could poison you with a small plate of food. Now you can either eat what is given you or you can starve. I don't care either way"

Via chewed her lip.

She didn't want to eat the food, she wasn't sure what these bastards had put in it. On the other hand if she didn't eat she'd run out of energy, and she couldn't use whatever magic she knew to escape if she was out of energy.

Quietly she walked over to the desk, took a seat in front of it and carefully began picking at the plate of food. It was delicious, and didn't seem to taste off…then again he could've been using odourless and tasteless poisons…

"So…what am I here for?" She asked after a couple of bites.

"What?" Alphard blinked in surprise at her.

Via rolled her eyes.

"Well you obviously have a lot of resources to pull all this crap off…and now you're offering me your food when you could've just as easily had some slop delivered to my cell. So what gives? Why bother bringing me up here?"

Alphard stared at her for a moment, eyes widening as her own blue orbs pierced straight into him.

"I guess that is the only question that does matter" Alphard sneered as she kept her eyes trained on him, all the while struggling to cut her steak with her plastic cutlery. "When Kravenoff told me that the daughter of Freyja Sorenson had been found, I could not believe my ears. I had to see you for myself, make sure it wasn't a hoax"

"It still could be" Via snorted through a mouthful of corn. "I mean you can see me and all but is just seeing me enough proof?"

"No. it isn't" Alphard agreed "Hence why I asked my men to extract a little blood for a dna test"

"Yeah and by a _little_ blood do you mean just one sample or a whole pint?" Via's eyebrows rose as she glanced to the puckered skin on her forearm, "because that looks like one heck of a needle"

"We needed to be sure" Alphard's sneer widened disconcertingly "and my scientists figured given your… _heritage_ as a Sorenson you could be a real asset"

Via gulped as she felt an icy shiver run down her spine. There was just something in the way he said asset that just made her skin crawl, and that hungry look he was giving her.

It was just like the look Cornelius Craven gave her back in that basement. The look of a predator sizing up its prey before it gave chase.

She took another bite of food, more for distraction than anything else, only to find her hands were trembling ever so slightly.

"You're scared" Alphard eyed her shaking fingers with intrigue. "You'd be a fool not to be"

Via glared at her plate of food as she polished the last of it clean.

"When you say asset…what exactly do you mean?" she muttered to break the thickening tension building in the air.

"What do you think I mean?" Alphard smirked. "You are the daughter of one of Shield's greatest allies. Did you not think that there would be people interested in investing in your _abilities_?"

" _Investing_?" Via blinked "I'm a human being, not something you buy off the shelf-"

"Funny, that's not what your old caretakers thought" Alphard snorted "and Stark too. Why else would he _hire_ you, an inexperienced child to help him look for a deadly intergalactic weapon-"

"Shut up!" Via snapped but Alphard continued ruthlessly, eyes ablaze with malicious pleasure.

"You are so young, with so many powers left untapped. Stark…your guardian Strange…They know nothing about what you are capable of"

"Oh, and you think you know?" Via rolled her eyes only to flinch as he suddenly zoned in on her personal space.

"Yes… I do. Because I know exactly _what_ you are. I know where you come from…and you can know it too…if you join us."

"Join who?"

Alphard's smirk widened.

"Tell me Olivia, what do you call a creature that grows two heads when you cut off the first?"

* * *

When Stephen Strange first looked upon the Hope Haven Orphanage, he wasn't quite sure what to think.

True the building was old and slightly shabby. But apart from that it looked fairly ordinary and not at all like the dreary prison, child labour hell hole he'd expected.

 _Then again looks can be deceiving._

He mused as he stepped out, admiring his own clean cut shirt and trousers, followed quickly by a stern faced Natasha Romanoff and a wary looking Clint Barton both of whom were dressed in business suits and looking important.

It had been decided that the Black Widow and Hawkeye should go because unlike the rest of their comrades they still knew how to blend in and fly under the radar. They would've asked Bruce Banner to join them too, but then their numbers would seem and Bruce himself didn't want to run the risk of letting his anger loose in a building full of innocent children.

Stephen couldn't blame him. After hearing Via's accounts of her miserable life at the hands of the matron and her husband, he too was almost tempted to tear the building apart brick by brick with magic.

"We're at the Orphanage. We'll keep you posted if we find anything" Natasha spoke quietly into the small communicator lodged in her ear.

"I see Stark has got his phone privileges back?" Stephen smirked at Clint who shrugged.

"He probably had Bruce smuggle it in. Good thing too, we need Jarvis to run a check on the orphanage's computers, see if we can find any clues in Via's file"

 _Her file…_

Stephen sucked in a deep breath as he followed a now silent Natasha up the front steps. She quickly fixed a small fake smile as she let him lead the way to the door.

He wrapped his knuckles on the door hard, only realizing just how strange it was that they were calling at such a late hour in the night at a time when most of the neighbourhood would probably be asleep.

Nonetheless the door opened, much to their surprise and they got the chance to peek inside.

The inside of the orphanage seemed just as ordinary as the outside. Children's pictures lined the dark walls of the small front entrance hallway and they could hear the sounds of small feet pattering around the ceiling above.

And yet…Stephen could not shake off the feeling of something off in the air…An off feeling that only intensified as he caught sight of their host.

She was a short plump woman, with greying dark hair and a rather pallid heavy face. She rather reminded Stephen of an old elephant, especially with the way her grey heavily wrinkled clothes sagged about her, and the way her feet trudged heavily on the floor.

"Those damn kids." She muttered more to herself than anyone else "Nearly midnight and they're screaming like banshees, just wait till I get my-"

She stopped quickly at the sight of Natasha, Clint and Stephen.

"Who the heck are you?"

"Doctor Stephen Strange. Mildred Hope isn't it?" Stephen held out a hand to the woman, his gut starting to now simmer with anger as he looked her over.

So…this was the Mildred who made his new ward's life a misery was it?

"Yes but what is it to…Ah…Strange…Then you're here to talk about-"

"About Olivia…yes"

"Olivia…of course…you better…better come in then" Despite her best tries to hide it, Stephen could practically taste the revulsion as his ward's name rolled off her tongue.

But what gave him the most satisfaction was seeing her look Natasha and Clint over with slight fear as she took in their professional corporate attire.

"My lawyers" Stephen smirked "Is there a place we can sit down and talk?"

"My office" Mildred gulped and she quickly beckoned them towards a door to their right "Make yourselves at home"

"Thank you" Natasha flashed a polite smile as they took their seats in the small dingy office space.

When Mildred shut the door sneering a little as she spat.

"So…what has she done this time?"

"I beg your pardon?" Stephen frowned, barely holding back a snarl as the woman bristled and strode to sit behind her desk.

"That girl. What has she done?"

"Who ever said she did anything?" Stephen glanced at Natasha, who kept her eyes trained on the woman shrewdly.

Mildred shivered a little under her gaze.

"I'm sorry Doctor, but you come here with a pair of Lawyers at my door in the middle of the night asking about that brat-I-I mean child. Given her track record what am I bound to think?"

"I don't know you tell me?" Stephen clipped quietly.

Mildred flushed.

"Well…well…I personally don't like to speak ill of my children. I mean, I believe that all these poor dears should have the chance of a good home with a good family…but that girl…she was...well...let's just say disturbed"

"Troubled?"

"Too big for her own boots" Mildred scoffed sinking back into her chair "Always loved to tell a tall tale, never knew quite when to hold her tongue. Upset a lot of people."

Stephen's lip curled.

"Really?"

"Yes." Mildred scowled "I know she looks all sweet and innocent. And usually I like to give my kids the benefit of the doubt…but that girl….She was trouble…"

"Why? Because she stood up to you and your husband?" Stephen spat.

Mildred turned scarlet, her mouth opening and shutting as Natasha took over, eyes flashing as she took out a file from her briefcase. In it were several pictures, one an enhanced zoom in on Via's back and what appeared to be several X rays.

"We've seen the cigarette burns on her back. They're healed but they came from before she ran away so she couldn't have gotten them on the streets. Then there are the several old fractures we've noticed in x-rays from her back and ribs. We've had an expert analyse them, these fractures appear to be over five years old"

"Children play rough" Mildred scoffed, though her face was pale and sweaty "You see them all the time, falling over, pushing one another and running about. And those-those burns she could've gotten anywhere. This isn't exactly a peaceful neighbourhood-"

"Perhaps, but then again not many people are friends with people like Cornelius Craven" Clint finally piped in

It was unmistakable now. Mildred Hope was now paler than death warmed up. Her eyes darted nervously between Clint, Natasha and Stephen.

"How…how do you know that name?" she gulped after a long pause.

"I've got an even better question Mrs Hope. How do _you_ know that name?" Stephen sneered leaning forwards.

Mildred was sweating buckets now as she looked between her three interrogators., her fingers quietly sliding down below the surface of her desk. However, she was stopped by Natasha's sudden grip on her wrist.

"Don't even think about it" the Black Widow growled, her tone soft but menacing as she forced the woman back into her seat, which slid back a little across the floor.

"N-no. P-please-y-you don't understand-"

"Understand what? That you were responsible for all those missing children?"

"Missing children?" Stephen frowned and Clint nodded.

"After we hired Via, Tony did some digging into the Orphanage files. Apparently, Via wasn't the only kid to go MIA from Hope Haven Orphanage after a visit from Cornelius Craven, as well as other Hydra agents."

"But Via escaped-" Steven's frown deepened.

"Because she was smart. The other kids weren't so lucky." Natasha grunted as she bared down on the other woman "You knew that, but you also knew she was valuable so you sold her off anyway. You just needed the right buyer, and you found one in Cornelius Craven. I bet he would've payed you _thousands_ just to get his hands on the daughter of Freyja Sorenson"

"He would've paid the world" Mildred hissed as her wrist was twisted horribly "You didn't see his face when he saw her. Like a child on Christmas day. Billy and I would've been set for life if that little bitch hadn't run off-AH!"

She cried out as Natasha twisted harder on her already strained limb, nostrils flaring with suppressed rage.

"Nat" Clint barked warningly, and quickly the spy loosened her grip, though she didn't let go of the limb.

Stephen let out the breath he didn't even know he had been holding in. He knew Natasha Romanoff wasn't a woman to be messed with. But now after seeing her like this, he didn't want to get on her bad side, let alone think about it.

He had to admit he was impressed by how calm Clint was about the whole sordid affair even as he said:

"He came here didn't he? Not years ago but recently. This week perhaps? He wanted to know if she was still a ward of the state-"

"Don't know what you're talking about" Mildred snarled, warily eyeing Natasha who stared her down threateningly.

"Oh yes you do." Clint stood to his feet. "You're a recruiter. For every single kid you hand over you get a commission, and if the kids are of good stock you get a bonus. You'd have to receive reports from someone somehow once the stock was evaluated to see what you'd be getting out of it. And Cornelius Craven's one of your big customers, you'd definitely keep tabs on him and his purchases"

Mildred glared at Clint through a tearstained glowering face.

Natasha rolled her eyes.

"Listen we'll make this very clear. Either you tell us where Craven and his brother are or I break your arm and every bone in your body one by one until you do. Your choice."

There was a silence as she twisted the Matron's arm once more, carefully this time to make sure that she got the point.

Mildred looked murderously up at her captor, but Stephen could see her chest deflating with defeat.

"Pennsylvania. They took her to a facility in Pennsylvania… where they take all the kids. I don't know the exact location" she bleated as Natasha threatened to twist her arm further "I swear, that's all I know"

"She's telling the truth" Stephen muttered.

Natasha glanced at Clint who nodded in agreement. But instead of letting the blasted woman go, she yanked her to her feet roughly.

"Get up. You've answered our questions, now you've got to answer the police's"

"The P-police! You F* called the police-You-" the rest of her sentence was cut off by police sirens blaring suddenly from outside.

"Tony called ahead. They've also apprehended Billy Hope before coming here. There's nowhere left to hide now." Clint quietly explained to Stephen who nodded in understanding as he made to follow the archer, the spy and their captive out the door, only to blink in surprise as a young twelve-year-old asian boy suddenly jumped back out of their way.

"S-sorry! Sorry…" the boy flushed scarlet, averting his eyes quickly at Mildred who looked ready to shout at him. However, at a glare from Natasha she kept her mouth shut and allowed herself to be steered to the front door.

"Hey kid, you okay?" Clint kneeled in front of the boy who nodded timidly.

"Yeah…yeah I'm okay…"

"A bit late to be listening at the door huh?" Clint smirked and the boy blushed.

"Jack dared me"

"What's your name?" Clint smiled helpfully.

"Tom" the boy mumbled, chancing a peek up at Stephen "You said you knew Via?"

"Yeah, I'm going to adopt her" Stephen coughed awkwardly "Did you know her?"

Tom nodded quietly.

"She stayed in the room opposite mine." He paused gulping to himself. He seemed to be contemplating if to say something. Apparently, he decided he could because with a deep breath he steeled himself, then blurted out:

"They had her in the basement"

"Who had her?"

"The weird guy with the white hair" Tom gulped "and this big dude with the fur on his jacket. They had someone down in the basement earlier but took them away. I didn't know who it was, but if you guys are here then maybe…"

"When was this Tom?" Clint asked swiftly.

"This afternoon…around four-ish I think…They said they were going to Hammersley or somthin'"

"The Hammersley Wild Area" Clint groaned, but was quick to quell Tom's nerves by patting him on the shoulder "Thanks Tom. It was very brave of you to speak like this. Now why don't you go back upstairs and get some sleep. The cops are outside and will make sure you guys are safe"

Tom nodded and quickly scampered off to the stairs, only to stop halfway up.

"Hey Mister!"

"Yeah?" Clint and Stephen both turned around.

"Those guys…they've taken a lot of kids…some were my friends…" he trailed off

"We'll find them" Clint assured him, gently but firmly.

"We promise"

* * *

"So let me get this straight. You guys are the last remnants of an old neo-nazi science division from World War Two hellbent on world domination?"

"We prefer to think of it as bringing the world back to order" Alphard smirked at Via's deadpan expression.

"Yeah…because that doesn't make you sound crazy" she snorted into the last bite of her plate of food.

Alphard raised his eyebrows.

"You really do not have a filter for your mouth, do you?"

"Oh I do…I just don't waste it on people like you" Via narrowed her eyes as Alphard stepped even further into her personal bubble so now they were almost nose to nose.

"Hmm…such fire…too bad we're gonna have to snuff it out. It won't do to have an asset with a short fuse"

"What are you gonna do? Torture me? Brainwash me with swirling black and white spirals?" Via sneered, though her heart was beginning to beat very fast indeed.

Now that she thought about it, was _brainwashing_ possible?

She knew that it could be accomplished through the mystic arts. She'd read texts on the repercussions and effects of telepathic manipulation. But was it possible for them to wipe her memories WITHOUT magic?

The notion was surreal and yet also very terrifying.

And the small smirk Alphard fixed her with was not helping her nerves one bit.

Perhaps he noticed it too, because his smirk widened with his next words.

"Possibly…but if we do we won't be using stuff as silly as spirals"

He straightened up tapping a Bluetooth communication earbud in his ear.

"Alphard to Franco. Our _guest_ has finished her meal. If you would be so kind as to take her down to the labs. I believe it's time for her check-up"

"With pleasure sir" Franco's huffed gruffly from the comm link.

"Check-up?" Via growled and Alphard grunted.

"Of course. We need you in one piece before we start conditioning you" he eyed the gauze on her leg and tutted "the Kravenoffs. An effective team to be sure, but so sloppy. I ask them to bring you back in one piece and they get you scratched. Now if only we had our good friend the Winter Soldier pick you up. He knew how to extract an asset without damage-"

"The Winter what?" Via frowned in confusion, but her captor just waved her off.

"It doesn't matter. Soon we'll have you to follow his footsteps. And I'm sure you'll do your job brilliantly"

"Against my will you mean?" Via snapped.

Alphard grinned.

"Oh, Strucker is going to enjoy breaking you in" he murmured, just as the door to the room opened and Franco stepped in again, looking grim.

"Sir, urgent report just in." his nostrils flared as he glanced at Via and back at Alphard "The Avengers have apprehended Agent Hope and her partner at Hope Haven."

Alphard's face dropped like a stone.

"Has she spoken to them?"

"We believe so sir. The orphanage is compromised as is our position here."

"How unfortunate" Alphard spat glaring sidelong at Via who was looking even more confused.

 _Agent Hope…wait Hope? Do they mean Mildred Hope? Old Milly?! She was working for them all this time?!_

Her horrified thoughts were interrupted as two guards grabbed her by the arms and shoved her to her feet.

"No matter we still have time" Alphard sneered into her face as he pulled out a long cloth napkin from the tray of food and quickly tied it around her mouth "Take her to Doctor Skrill. See if he can prep her for the plane. I'll call Strucker"

Via glared at him, struggling hard against the men that held her as they all but frog marched her from the room.

 _Got to get away from these bozos…ARGH!_

"Hey! Cut it out brat" one of the men shoved her forwards, his hands letting her go for the slightest second.

She saw her chance.

With a roar she jostled her arms out of the grip of both men, punching one in the face before turning around and kneeing one in the privates.

There were shouts all around her, but she paid them no heed as two more men rushed forwards, raising their guns.

She ducked quickly lunging and rolling in between the gap they left.

There was the blast of gunfire and she felt the hot burning metal scrape by her knee as one bullet narrowly missed hitting her leg.

"Hold your fire!" Alphard was yelling to the guards who quickly holstered their guns. "HOLD YOUR FIRE!"

But Via was already running along the corridor, using the web of Asibikaashi to propel herself in a flip over one man's head, which forced him to collide headlong with two of his fellows.

Via smirked as she began running around a corner, jumping down a flight of stairs.

She could hear a loud alarm ringing and see red lights flashing in the ceilings. This when added to the loud yelling and thundering of footsteps reminded Via forcibly of a thunderstorm.

 _And speaking of Thunderstorm where's an Avenger when you need one?_

Via rolled her eyes as she quickly jumped down another flight of stairs, quickly pushing out a web of golden energy.

With a tug she launched herself onto the ceiling of a corridor and stilled just above the entrance way, only just in time.

"She came down here sir! I saw her"

"Spread out and search, subdue if necessary but hand to hand combat only. We need her alive" it was Franco and boy did he sound pissed.

Via shrank back into the shadows of a ceiling corner as she caught sight of the man himself stride into the corridor. He didn't even see her as he gave a cursory glance to the ceiling.

He was on his own.

But Via could see the shadows of his men just behind the threshold.

So…he wanted to lure her out into the open himself did he?

Slowly and quietly she raised one hand from the wall behind her and began mouthing softly under her breath.

"Porta sigillum, nam quis non aperire [Door seal. DO not open for anyone]"

A tiny glimmer of amber trickled out of her fingertips, catching the corner of Franco's eye.

But even as he turned around to face her it was too late.

The doors to the corridor slammed shut all around him.

"You little bitch!" he snarled as Via leapt down from the ceiling.

Behind the locked door, many of his men were shouting, yelling and firing their guns. But the spell stayed strong. With every judder the amber energy sparked and someone yelled as they and their bullets were thrown back from the barrier.

"What…what the hell did you do?" Franco snarled at the door, eyes widening in shock as Via launched herself at him.

She bowled him over, punching him hard in the face. He reeled back, blood flying from his broken nose, the scent of it incensing him further.

With a roar he grabbed his attacker and threw her from him.

Via grunted as her back hit the wall, quickly dodging a solid punch aimed for her head. Ducking out under his arm she aimed a smooth sweeping roundhouse to his ribs. He grunted in pain but caught her foot twisting it hard.

But Via didn't resist, instead she let him twist, using the action to propel herself onto her hands in a half-handstand from which she kicked out with her free foot. It hit him in the chin and she cartwheeled away, landing in a crouch.

"You've been trained well" Franco sneered as he struggled back to his hands and knees, rubbing his now bruised chin.

"You haven't" Via spat only to tense as she felt something moving behind her.

She sprang away, but was stopped as something large and heavy suddenly fell on top of her.

She struggled wildly against the thing, which she noticed, was large heavy, full of holes and made of thin black rope.

 _A net-_

"AHH!" she cried out as suddenly something white hot and piercing like a thousand knives shot straight through her body.

She writhed in pain, shrieking as the sounds of crackling and the smell of her own burning flesh filled her nose.

She held her hands over her face, shielding it as the burning shocking coils dug into her arms and legs, and even through her clothes.

Then suddenly it was gone.

She gasped as the heat suddenly disappeared from her skin, though the searing pain did not go away in the slightest.

"Well look what we've got here?" a deep British voice chuckled darkly. "A little dumb animal caught in a trap"

Via panted as she felt a heavy booted foot roll her over.

"Y-y-you bastard" she stuttered as she stared up into the face of Cornelius Craven, whose smile widened with glee as he pulled the net from her body.

"Tch! Now look what you made me do" he tutted as he stroked a hand along her jaw, eyeing the net shaped burns in her dress, arms and legs. "Ruining your pretty dress. It would've been easier if you'd just come along quietly like a good little girl-"

He paused as she spat in his eye.

"G-G-G-Go to H-hell" she growled, tears streaming down her face.

"Already been there love" Cornelius's sneer widened as wiped his face slowly. "It's grossly overrated"

There was a loud bang and they both turned just in time to see the sealed door finally break down.

"Stand down gentlemen. I got this" he drawled as the guards flooded into the corridor, quickly forming a circle around him and his prey.

With a swift tug he pulled Via to her shaking feet, ignoring her snarls of anger as he grabbed the back of her neck and shoved her forwards.

"Get a move on." He hissed at her before turning to the other men "Change of plans boys, we go to the Hangar."

"The Hangar? But Alphard said-" Franco glowered angrily only to be cut short as a large beefy hand of Sergei Craven slapped down on his shoulder.

"Strucker's orders. Our position's been compromised, he's ordering an immediate extraction."

"Extraction?" Via wondered aloud "So where to next? The Sahara?"

"Does she ever shut up?" Sergei rolled his eyes as his brother chuckled darkly.

"Don't worry brother, by the time Strucker is done with her, she'll be a perfect little asset"

"Like your beloved Winter Soldier?" she sneered, and was pleased to see all the men stiffen uncomfortably in their positions.

Even Cornelius bristled angrily as he cuffed her over the back of the head hard.

"Don't speak of things you don't understand girl" he turned back to his brother and their underlings, beady eyes flashing dangerously.

"I suggest you all start moving, unless you all want to end up with your head on a spike" he barked, so harshly that Via herself winced, heart hammering as she allowed herself to be steered back down the corridor surrounded by her armoured guards.

How she wished she could just go home…to her bed…to her books…to her friends…to Stephen, Buddy and Wong.

 _You gotta stay strong Vee. Stay strong and don't let them see you cry. They aren't worth your tears._

Her fists trembled by her sides as she gulped down the large lump in her throat.

No. She wasn't going to let them see her cry. She wasn't going to let them win. She'd get out of this by hell and high water if it was the last thing she ever did.

* * *

Stephen Strange was angry.

No one could really blame him of course. His ward had been kidnapped by a secret group of terrorists and the orphanage she'd grown up in had been responsible for the disappearances of not just one, but many children.

But the absolute cherry on top of his most frustrating day was the fact that both the Avengers and the Order of the Mystic Arts had practically forced him to stay behind while the worlds greatest heroes organized a rescue mission.

Hence why he was pouring through every single book in his personal library to find a way to break free of the magical tether that four masters of the mystic arts had placed on him to stop him leaving the safety of the New York Sanctum.

 _"How dare you?!"_ he had yelled to Master Percival of the London Sanctum. _"She's my ward! My apprentice! Who are you to tell me that I cannot go help rescue her from those despots?"_

However, despite Percival's sympathy, the masters answers remained the same.

 _"You are the next Sorcerer Supreme. We cannot risk our enemies knowing your identity or your powers just yet until you have completed your trials. We understand you're worried for the safety of your apprentice, but the chance of losing you is too high to risk that we cannot afford to take."_

It made sense, the logical part of his brain surmised bitterly. The order had no other candidate apart from him to take the Ancient One's place. Of course they'd value his safety above Via's at the moment. If Via were to die it would still be a blow, but if Stephen were to die, the order would be sitting ducks, vulnerable to destruction.

 _But she's just a child_

The more fierce protective doctor's side snarled angrily.

 _She's tough and a good fighter, but deep down she's still just a normal kid. She must be scared out of her mind._

He shut his eyes as he sucked in a deep breath. Although he knew she was many hours away, he could still feel her presence on the edges of his mind.

She was scared, terrified, he could feel it in her thoughts. But she was also determined and stubborn. He could almost feel her rolling her eyes at something, so wherever she was and whatever was happening to her she was still healthy enough to give back her sass.

The thought was enough to give him a little respite but not enough to quench his frustration. Wong had told him that even if he couldn't go to rescue her he could still be of some comfort to her when she returned home from her ordeal. But Stephen was not a patient man.

If he was going to comfort Via he was going to do it in the here and now, and not leave her to suffer in silence. And so he sat down in his chair behind his desk, breathing deeply to try and keep his own mind calm and soothing as he tried his best to reach out further with his mind to hers.

He could feel her shock as she felt his presence, but was relieved when she accepted it without question. Indeed, he could feel her grip on tightly to it like a lifeline.

 _Thank god, you found me. I was afraid you'd never hear me someone was blocking me._

Her relieved voice echoed in his brain.

 _The Sanctum's defences have been momentarily raised. The Order thought it necessary considering the circumstances. But that's not important. Are you hurt? What have they done to you?_

He asked her swiftly, doing his best to keep his anger in check.

 _I'm fine…_

She muttered awkwardly but he could feel her twinges of pain as clearly as if they were his own.

 _My leg's hurt but I can walk and run if need be._

 _And your relics? Can you defend yourself?_

Stephen's scarred fingers clenched and flexed in anticipation.

 _Don't worry I've kept them hidden. These bozos are under the impression that whatever powers I use are my own and the stuff I wear are just trinkets. But that's not important-Ow!_

Stephen winced as he felt a sharp jab of pain from her end.

 _What happened? Are you alright?_

He asked quickly as she recovered.

 _I'm fine…they just want me to hurry up and keep moving._

 _Where?_

 _They've got me somewhere in Pennsylvania but apparently they want to move me somewhere else now, but I don't know where. Said this place was compromised. I'm like, literally on the way to some kind of hangar right now-_

 _DAMN!_

Stephen cursed slamming a hand on the desk before him.

 _Whoever had you now must've heard about the arrest of Mildred and Billy Hope. Obviously they must have a mole somewhere in the system that must've told them-shit!_

 _Stephen what-_

 _I'm calling Stark. His team are on their way to your location right now._

 _They WHAT?!_ Via bleated in shock, but Stephen already had whipped out his phone and was dialling.

"Stark. Stark! Goddammit answer you sunofa-"

"Whoa-whoa Houdini! No need to get your wizard's hat in a twist I'm right here" a voice drawled.

Stephen looked up to the door of his study just in time to see Tony Stark himself hobble into the room. He was wearing an AC-DC T-shirt, jeans and trainers with a red hooded sweater, his left arm bandaged and in a white sling. His usually suave face was scratched and bruised and his dark hair was ruffled, but otherwise he looked alright.

"I take it you're having fun under house arrest" the billionaire snorted and was not surprised when the sorcerer before him snarled sarcastically.

"Oh yes" Stephen rolled his eyes "I mean yeah sure my ward was kidnapped by some terrorist despots and I can't even step one foot out of this fortress to help bring her back safe and sound before they move her to another facility, but yeah I'm doing just swell!"

"Move to another facility?" Tony frowned "How on earth-"

"She told me" Stephen snapped waspishly "I found her telepathically and she told me they're extracting her because of the Hope's arrest."

"Shit! Jarvis!" Tony groaned, just as the disembodied voice of Jarvis suddenly spoke up.

"Yes sir, already sending emergency message to Quinjet seven, Captain Rogers is accelerating flight as we speak. Estimation of arrival now one hour."

"Yeah well tell him to make it half an hour," Tony sighed, turning back to Stephen and holding up a brown paper bag in his hands.

"Burger?" he asked.

Stephen glowered at him. How could the man even think about his stomach in such a time of crisis?

As if reading his thoughts, Tony rolled his eyes.

"Listen you've been grounded, I've been grounded." He gestured to his broken arm "The least we can do is keep ourselves in some decent shape before they bring her back home."

"Fine"

Stephen sighed as he walked back to sit behind his desk, Tony smirking as he made to sit on the other side, burying his hand in the bag.

"So which one do you want? I've got two beef, one cheeseburger and one chicken-I mean usually I prefer Schwarma's but recently I've had a hankering for a good old fashioned burger bun-"

"Chicken" Stephen clipped waspishly as he tried to shut his eyes.

He could feel Via there still through the link, her fear heightening tenfold with every passing moment.

"They're coming for you just hold on" he murmured out loud and in his head, making Tony's glower soften slightly.

Whilst he'd never really liked Stephen Strange, he had to admit he felt rather sorry for him now. Despite their differences the man obviously cared for his ward immensely, and Tony could only imagine just how frustrated and frightened he must be feeling not being able to do anything to help. If only because that's just how he himself felt at this moment in time.

"She's a good kid." he muttered quietly as he handed the chicken burger to the stressing man "Maybe not academically or technologically brilliant but the fact she had enough wits about her to send me that SOS in her dreams when she could've been wasting her time pissing her pants-"

"Yeah…she's pretty smart like that" Stephen admitted as he accepted the food and bit down into it.

"Hard worker too" Tony grunted through a mouthful of food. "Seriously when she's at the tower it's difficult to tear her away for even a coffee break."

"You should see her when she's studying her spells" Stephen snorted into his burger "Wong and I have to practically seal her books shut before we can get her to go to bed"

"Secret bookworm huh? Who'd have thought?" Tony chuckled, and despite himself, Stephen felt the corners of his lips quirk upwards at the memory as he turned to look out the drizzling window.

"You don't know the half of it."

He paused as he heard Via's voice through the telepathic link.

 _Right…just a little bit more…_

 _Via what?_

Something of his confusions must've shown on his face because Tony glanced at him nervously.

"Uh Strange?"

But Stephen wasn't listening, instead he gasped as he felt what appeared to be a blast of victorious glee from his apprentice's mind along with the satisfactory smirk.

 _Got it._

In his mind's eye, Stephen was vaguely aware of a small golden knife hidden in a slender pale hand.

"Oh no…" his face paled.

"What?" Tony gulped anxiously.

"Oh no…" Stephen pinched the bridge of his nose "Olivia what the hell are you doing?"

* * *

 _And so there I was, waiting in the hangar bay to board a helicopter that was about to take me who knows where._

 _Honestly I would be lying if I didn't say that I wasn't a little excited. I'd never travelled by air before, at least not in the conventional mundane way. And despite my fear of being held captive by Hydra I was curious as to what being in a helicopter would feel like. Would it be smooth or bumpy? Would I get air-sick? And if I did was being Air-sick the same as being Sea-sick?_

 _I had been on a boat, but that was just the New York Ferry so it didn't really count._

 _Anyways, there I was standing and wondering what was going to happen to me when Alphard finally came down and started talking to the Craven brothers._

 _As he did nearly all my guards turned to face him, all of them quickly setting about to prepare my path into the vehicle as it revved to life. For the first time since my incarceration, no one was looking at me or touching me._

 _That's when I summoned Asmund._

* * *

Via smirked as she quickly tucked a tiny golden needle like blade into the sleeve of her camisole. It made a slight bump, but if she kept her hand facing down no one would notice it.

She wasn't too keen on the idea of using such a deadly weapon to defend herself. After all the last time she'd transformed Asmund into something sharp she'd ended up killing a man, but desperate times called for desperate measures and by god she really was desperate now.

She kept her mouth shut as she let herself be led towards the helicopter into which she was quickly strapped in to sit between two guards, while Alphard took the cockpit with the pilot.

She barely understood the commands and instructions the men around her were yelling over the whirring of the helicopter propeller above their heads, which whirred to life as it carried them up into the air.

Via watched with bated breath as grey light suddenly came through the windows of the craft. In comparison to the dim light of the hangar below it seemed to almost blind her and her captors who quickly adjusted as the helicopter tilted into a turn.

It was then Via saw her prison.

It was a grey concrete building, cleverly built into the side of a large hill so that from the front it was mostly concealed by trees. From the air though, the gaping hole in the short grey tower that they had risen from was plain to see just below them.

"Everyone doing alright back there?" the pilot called and the two men beside Via grunted along with Alphard.

Slowly, Via slid her hands down into her lap, quietly twirling her fingers in the hem of her half ruined dress while quietly trying to mouth a spell between pursed lips.

There was a tiny click as the buckle of her seatbelt suddenly popped open.

"What the-AGHAAHHAA!"

* * *

 **and thats where i leave all of you. seriously im not trying to be cruel but im literally posting this on my phone on my way to work.** **anyways hope you guys enjoyed and read/review for more :-)**

 **cheers**

 **FuzzyBeta**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Escape Plan A  
**

 _When I was very small, I already knew I would be willing to do whatever it took to survive._

 _And I don't just mean when I was ten years old. I mean this is way back when I was six or five. I may have been young and innocent, but I was aware by then of the horrors that the world could inflict on me, and what I could do to deliver the pain right back at it._

 _I don't know why everyone else gets so shocked that I have no qualms about using violence to get myself out of sticky situations, and not just the usual punches and kicks of struggling._

 _I mean drawing blood, fighting dirty, tooth and nail. No mercy._

 _Wong always said it was because I usually looked so sweet and innocent that no-one ever WANTED to believe I was capable of being so vicious. Yet, despite what everyone wants to think of me, and how much I want to live up to their good expectations, I cannot deny that I did somewhat enjoy stabbing that Hydra guard in the leg…_

* * *

"What the-AGHAAHHAA!"

Alphard wheeled around, eyes widening at the sight behind him.

One of the guards on Via's sides was hollering in pain as she wrenched out a small golden knife from where she'd buried it deep in his upper thigh.

"What the fu-Ugh!" her other guard spluttered as her free hand suddenly chopped sideways, slamming itself painfully into his Adams apple.

"Oh no you don't" Alphard growled quickly rummaging around in his belt for his gun only to still as he felt the liquid coated metal press against the side of his throat.

"Tell your pilot to land" Via hissed in his ear, and though her voice was shaking, her hands were quite steady.

"I have a gun" Alphard sneered, but nonetheless motioned for the pilot next to him to stop reaching for his own gun and not take his hands off the controls.

"And I have a knife against your Carret-carrot-whatever Artery-"

"Carotid. It's Carotid Artery" Alphard rolled his eyes like an exasperated teacher explaining one plus one equals two "Rule number one when threatening your victim. Know your anatomy so you know where to strike. Though I must admit I'm impressed you even know the existence of such a body part. It seems Hydra must re-evaluate your intellectual skills"

"Hydra won't be doing anything for me except for landing this helicopter" Via spat, being careful to keep her temper in check as she felt her blade prick his skin.

For all her aggressiveness and anger, she didn't want to kill him. She already had enough blood on her hands as it stood.

"This is your first time isn't it? Thought so" Alphard smirked as he carefully turned his head to looked back at her with a small playful wink. "I must say I'm honoured that you chose me for your first"

"Ugh! Gross" Via groaned.

Alphard only chuckled.

"Don't worry you're doing better than most. Most assets we train usually are too afraid to retaliate when placed in the same situation. But you…You nearly escaped us twice and now you've just stabbed a man, choked another and are holding me to ransom. That…well…that takes guts"

Via didn't know what was worse. The fact that Alphard sounded genuinely impressed, or the fact that a small part of her was preening herself off with pride on the inside.

 _No, don't think like that. Just keep going you've almost got back to the ground…_

She gulped as she chanced a small glance out of the window. The helicopter did seem to be descending back down to the rooftop of the tower they'd just left.

"Send a message to Strucker. Tell him to give us a few more minutes, our little guest needs a little lesson in manners." Alphard snapped to the pilot who quickly began muttering into his headset just as the helicopter made to land.

It was grey as dawn began to creep up over the horizon, a mist hanging over the facility below and the dense forest around it. But that didn't hamper the pilot in the slightest…nor Alphard.

As soon as the bottom railings made touchdown Alphard suddenly reached up to Via's arm and twisted it.

Via cried out in pain as she felt the bones in her wrist snap before the rest of her was suddenly get thrown away, Asmund suddenly disappearing from her grip as he transformed back into a bracelet on her wrist.

She landed heavily on the ground, noticing vaguely that her body was hitting the concrete floor of the tower roof. She winced as she slowly pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, the cold air gliding past her scraped cheek, making it sting.

"Did that hurt? Good" Alphard grunted as in a couple of strides he reached for the girl and grabbed her by the roots of the hair.

Via barely was able to move an inch by the time the punch hit her jaw.

"Th-thanks" she snorted as he pulled her face back up to glare down into it.

"For what?" Alphard snarled as he readied his fist again.

"For saving me the trouble of going to the dentist" Via snorted, spitting a fair bit of blood (and even one of her back teeth) onto his face and uniform.

Another hit, this time to her nose.

She felt the bone break, felt the warm blood streaming down her nose and over her lips, and the ringing in her ears from the impact, but still she kept her eyes open, never looking away from his.

She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her defeated. She'd keep fighting him, even if she couldn't raise a finger.

He raised his fist for a third time.

Via grit her teeth.

 _BAM!_

A fist slammed into a jaw.

But it wasn't Alphard's fist that struck …and it wasn't Via's jaw that was hit.

It was the dark gloved hand of-

Via fell to the ground, only just catching herself on her hands and knees as Alphard literally flew backwards, his body hitting the side of the helicopter.

"GET HIM!" the downed agent yelled angrily, and Via became aware of the dark shadow kneeling over her.

There was the sound of something banging loudly and Via yelped quickly curling into a tight ball where she knelt, covering her head with her hands.

But the bullets did not hit her. Instead they clanged hard against something metal, before being interrupted by what sounded like crackling electricity followed by the yelps and splutters of pain.

"-ia! Via! Kid can you hear me?!" A voice was calling at her, quickly grabbing her by the shoulders.

"Steve?" Via rasped as Captain Steve Rogers himself dragged her up to stand, only to scoop her up into his arms as she almost fainted into them from dizziness.

"Whoa-whoa, come on kid stay with me! Just hold on!" Captain America almost felt his heart stop as he caught sight of her ever-paling face under all the blood.

"GET TO THE JET! I'LL COVER YOU!" A voice yelled from above and Via recognized it at once to be Sam who was flying around in the air on a pair of metal wings.

But Via did not have time to admire the spectacle before her as she was carried up what appeared to be a ramp, where Thor was gearing up to fight the many Hydra agent's now running up onto the platform.

"Lady Via, tis good to see you alive. Though I wish I could say the same for our enemies."

"Uh-Hmm" Via grunted as she was carried into what appeared to be some sort of aircraft.

She could feel the edges of her vision begin to darken slowly.

"BRUCE!" Steve called worriedly as he saw the girl in his grip begin to slip away.

"Clint take the wheel!" a frantic voice called.

"Hey" Via murmured weakly as Steve deposited her on what felt like a nearby cot and Bruce Banner bustled over.

"Shit that's a lot of blood." He winced, and Via was faintly aware of the small green tinge on his knuckles as he made to turn her head to inspect the damage.

"I'm okay." She mumbled reaching up to grab his wrist. "No need to go green with envy" she added with a tiny smirk.

Bruce sighed, but she could see the tense muscles in his face relax slightly at the joke.

"Come on let's get you cleaned up." He muttered bringing a small wet cloth to her face.

The aircraft around her jostled slightly as Clint made to shift their position away from what sounded like heavy gunfire, but otherwise everything was calm…mostly…

Via felt the waves of tension rolling off Bruce in waves as he helped her clean up the blood from her nose and mouth. He was angry, very angry, but it seemed like he was using the excuse of looking after her as a distraction for himself.

Via didn't mind. After those few terrifying hellish hours with Hydra, getting gauze shoved up her nose by a quietly seething Bruce was almost like chilling out and relaxing at the beach (not that she'd ever been to a beach in her life).

She was so zoned out with relief that she barely took note of all the commotion all around her as she shut her eyes and let her exhaustion carry her off to sleep.

"Rogers in! We've got Via. The Facility is secure, War Machine, Damage Control and the Iron Legion are surrounding the building" Steve panted as he leapt up onto the once again open ramp of the quinjet, followed quickly by Sam in his Falcon suit, a bruised but fiercely glaring Natasha in her stealth suit and a clean, undamaged smirking Thor.

"Good" The disembodied voice of Tony Stark spoke up from the speakers. "How's the kid?"

"She's a bit bruised but okay" Bruce announced to the plane at large. "Jarvis is scanning her for further injuries"

"There appears to be a hairline fracture on her jaw, a severe fracture on her right wrist, a broken nose, several minor first degree burns and a deep laceration on her left shin and what appears to be a concussion on the back of her head" Jarvis spoke candidly as if announcing the weather.

"Shit man! Open the goddamn door, I've gotta get a few more hits into those bastards" Sam swore not even bothering to hide his disgust as he turned back to the ramp.

"Wake her up" Natasha clipped, grabbing her friend before he could take two steps away.

"What for, let the poor child rest. She's been through enough Hel for one night" Thor frowned as he caught sight of the exhausted girl curled up in the cot. She'd seen so brash and brazen when training with him and Steve just the other day. Now she just looked tiny and frail, like a gust of wind could blow her away and shatter her on the ground.

But Bruce shook his head.

"No, Nat's right. With such a big concussion we need to wake her up and see if there isn't any brain damage" he reached down to gently shake the girl's shoulder.

"Via. Olivia. Wake up"

"Five more minutes Stephen" Via muttered sleepily only to grumble as she felt her body get lifted into a sitting position.

"Morning kid." Bruce sighed as she glowered sleepily up at him. "Sorry I know you're tired but we need to make sure you're okay"

"Am I alive?" Via grunted.

"Yes-" Bruce started calmly but she just steamrolled over him.

"Then I'm okay."

"Well she hasn't lost her sass" Tony's disembodied voice snorted from the speakers.

Bruce sighed as he turned back to Via and held a tiny torch up to her eyes. A few moments passed in which everyone watched anxiously as her eyes managed to track the small bead of light wherever he pointed it.

"Well your pupils seem to be working fine" he muttered as he shut the tiny light off "You seem to be able to form speech patterns properly… and from what Jarvis is showing us your heart seems to be running at normal pace given your condition…yeah, Thor's right you should be able to take a nap after I'm finished taping your wrist"

"Thank Christ" Via sighed in relief, shutting her eyes as she leaned back against the wall of the cot pinching her broken nose to stem the fresh blood flow. "God I need a shower"

"You can have one when we get back to the tower" Steve nodded as he took a seat at the cots on the opposite side of the jet. He kept his jaw set stiffly as he could as he heard the girl faintly mutter something along the lines of:

"-wanna go home-"

"And you will young one, you will. You have been most brave throughout your ordeal. You just need to be brave for a little longer" Thor patted the top of her head gently as he passed her by, but not before dropping something big and red over her lap.

It was his cloak.

Damn, did the Asgardian god always have to be so darn nice all the time?

Via scowled as she felt her cheeks burn red hot as she begrudgingly covered herself in the thick scarlet material. It smelt a little of sweat and battle, but it was warm and surprisingly soft against her skin.

But she still preferred the Cloak of Levitation.

 _Good Old Levy…And Stephen…and Wong…Buddy…Meeta…I'm coming home_

She exhaled heavily as she shut her eyes, barely heeding Bruce as he strapped a splint to her wrist.

"Right that should hold it for now. Just lie like this and you'll be fine." He gently positioned her so that she was sitting and leaning against the wall of the cot, Thor's cloak wrapped tight over most of her.

It was oddly enough a comfortable position for her, as she'd often slept huddled like this on the streets of New York. Except whenever she'd done that she'd only been covered by a newspaper and never been tucked in.

She wondered vaguely if this was what it felt like getting tucked in. She'd never been tucked in before in her life. It felt comforting, especially now that she knew she was back in a safe zone.

It didn't take her long for her deep breaths to turn into loud pig like snores, much to the amusement of the heroes around her.

"Wow. Such sound from such a small being?" Thor chuckled along with Clint who sniggered softly from the plane's cockpit.

"Come on give her a break" Steve chided them, though he too smiled a little at the sight of the blond girl with gauze stuffed up her nose.

What no one else could see was the small scrawny half beaten boy from Brooklyn his mind's eye had superimposed over her form.

It didn't help that he could vividly remember the fierce gleam he'd briefly seen in her eyes when she'd been staring her abuser in the eye.

"Careful Cap, stare too hard and she might catch on fire" Natasha drawled as her elbow jostled him out of his reverie.

"What?" he blinked in surprise. "Oh…right. Sorry I just was thinking"

"A dangerous pastime" Natasha smirked "Okay thinking about what?"

"Nothing…just that…she well…" Steve faltered.

"She managed to make it through?" Natasha finished for him quietly.

"We don't know that yet" Steve muttered, his expression darkening "We have no clue what happened to her in there-"

"But what we do know is that she's safe and sound now." Natasha sighed heavily. "Wait for the debriefing before you start brooding."

"But its Hydra, Nat. Hydra. The same guys who did to…to Bucky…what if they tried to do _that_ to her?" he sucked in a deep breath through gritted teeth, his fists clenching "She's just a kid"

Natasha put a hand on his shoulder.

"I know, but we can't do anything else for now until she tells us what happened, which might take a while given her injuries. All we can do for now is help her feel safe and secure until she gets home"

Steve nodded, though everyone could see his eyes were still grim and worn out as dark thoughts began circling his head once more.

The others could tell him not to worry till kingdom come, but he knew that once Hydra had something in their sights, they'd stop at nothing till they got it.

But that only raised the question.

Why did Hydra want the Sorenson family so much?

* * *

 _By the time I finally got back to New York in the Avenger's Quinjet, it was mid afternoon. Only four hours of rest. Steve and Thor had both offered to carry me inside if I still felt sleepy but I refused._

 _I may have been injured but I needed to stay awake, more for the sake of my own pride than anything else. I had never been a damsel in distress before and I wasn't going to start being one now. Also I was mighty hungry and desperately wanted a bath._

 _By the time I was done with cleaning and feeding myself I was so tired that I just crashed on a couch._

 _When I woke up next it was to find myself back home at the Sanctum._

* * *

"Hmm? Stephen?" Via mumbled as one of her eyes cracked open.

She was in her room…in her bed, propped up on many pillows and under her blue comforter. At her feet the large gigantic furry form of Buddy was lying down gently dozing.

Next to the bed on her left, Stephen sat in a chair, leaning on one of its arms as he quietly read through the large tome in his lap.

"Welcome back to the world of the living" he muttered not looking up from his book.

"Good to be back Doc" Via grunted as she tried to shimmy up to sit.

Quick as a flash she felt something gently raise her back up before settling it into a sitting position against pillows that hadn't been propped up before.

"Show off" Via rolled her eyes as Stephen smirked up at her from his book, one of his hands lowering back down.

"So how long was I out of it?" she asked quietly looking over herself.

Her arm was in a sling, but her face and head wasn't throbbing anymore. Her left leg too felt normal. And her nose…

She reached up to touch it. It felt good as new, no blood, no scars, not even mild discomfort.

"Only twelve hours." Stephen shut his book with a sigh "I brought you back here with the Sling Ring and had a healer from Kamar-Taj have a look at you. You should be fine now, you'll just need to take it easy with the arm."

"Yeah about that, how long will I need this for? Because I really want to sock those Hydra bastards in the face" Via snorted, not noticing the anger that flashed briefly over Stephen's face as he clipped.

"Three days. The bone's been reset but still quite delicate. Same goes for your nose, so try not to blow or sneeze too hard."

"Wow, for a doctor your bedside manner sucks" Via smirked and Stephen grunted.

"You sound like Christine. She always used to tell me I had to be more _delicate_ when telling patients their condition"

"Yeah but I'm not your patient, am I?"

"No you are not" Stephen reached out to hand her a glass of water. "Drink up. Wong's preparing lunch and then you'll have to take a bath"

"Right" Via took a sip of the water which was nice and cool against her dry throat.

"So what happened to you guys while I was gone?" she gasped as she guzzled down another few gulps of water.

"The Order has been put on high alert" Stephen huffed lounging back in his chair. "Apparently these Hydra guys are not just Shield's enemies, but ours too. Hence this"

He slid the collar of his robes aside to show her his bare chest, where a small golden amber mandala was glowing faintly.

Via grinned.

"So…house arrest for you huh?"

"Yes. Apparently it was too risky sending the next sorcerer supreme to rescue his apprentice so they tethered me here to the Sanctum." Stephen rolled his eyes irritably and she giggled.

"Probably for the best. Y'know, seeing as neither of us have ever fought against guns before"

Stephen stilled mid retort.

He hadn't thought about that. Training for the mystic arts often involved defence against mystical or physical threats in the older forms of fighting.

But guns?

Neither he nor Via had been trained to move against those.

"Did they try to shoot you?" Stephen looked her in the eye, and was surprised when she shrugged.

"A couple of trigger happy guards did, but apart from that they tried to keep me in as much as one piece as possible. I only got injured because I fought back."

Stephen nodded quietly. Yes, that sounded about right.

For all her delicate looks, Via was a real scrapper in a pinch.

Oh yes sure Stephen's magic was far more powerful, and his spellcasting more superior but when it came down to fighting tooth and nail for his life he wasn't keen to dish out a deadly hit to his opponent. He was at his core, still a doctor…a healer of wounds, someone who preferred to spare and save lives rather than damage them.

Via on the other hand wasn't as merciful. Give her an opening she'd unleash hell and worm her way out. It was perhaps the one thing that made her a better fighter on the battlefield than him. That and she was younger and more energetic.

And speaking of energy-

"And what do you think you're doing?" he scowled as she tried to swing her legs out over the side of the bed away from him. At the end of the bed, Buddy quickly looked up, eyes wide with shock as he was jostled from his nap. He leapt off excitedly as Via cracked her neck side to side.

"Need to pee." She grunted as she stretched out her stiff back.

"Don't strain yourself" Stephen growled, body ready to spring from the chair as she hobbled her way stiffly over to her small bathroom.

"Okay, okay" she waved him off as she shut the door behind her.

Stephen's smirk fell as he heard her sigh on the other side of the door.

He knew he should be happy she was back, but he couldn't have been more worried. When the Avengers had brought her back, she was indeed alive, but the sight of her injuries were enough to give him chills. And that was only the result of being captured for less than twenty-four hours with Hydra.

 _Maybe Wong was right_. _Maybe it is too dangerous to let her work with the Avengers._

He scratched his chin as he heard the toilet flush start and the sound of a tap briefly gushing.

"Whoo! Much better" Via sighed as she exited the bathroom, wiping her hands on her towel as she passed it by.

She frowned as she caught sight of the doctor's pensive face.

"Stephen? You okay?"

"Hmm?" Stephen blinked up at her. "Me? Yes, I'm fine, just thinking…"

He was grateful that Wong chose at that moment to enter the room with a tray of food, because Via looked ready to start questioning him with a suspicious glance.

"Thanks Wong" Via smiled as she inhaled the hot hearty stew. That steak Alphard had given her had been-

She froze, her spoon tipping so that all its contents fell back into the bowl.

"Olivia?" Wong and Stephen glanced at one another as the girl's eyes misted over.

"Alphard…of course!"

"Olivia what-Olivia!" Wong cried out quickly using his magic to catch her flying food tray before it could spill everywhere.

But Via wasn't listening as she bounded out of bed and rushed over to her desk.

She rummaged through the top drawer, one handed, eyes flashing with victory as she finally pulled out her quarry, a purple envelope with a golden seal on the back.

She opened it quickly, eyes scanning the white paper until her eyes found what she was looking for.

"I knew it! I knew that bastard's name sounded familiar!" she breathed.

"Who's name did?" Stephen strode over to examine the paper "Your mom's letter-"

"Just read it here!" she thrust the paper under his nose, pointing to a small paragraph towards the middle.

" _If you wish to find the truth, you must first labour twice as hard to find Alphard and Minchir. They will show you the way to your father. It is with him you will find the answers you seek."_

Stephen looked up at Via, eyebrows raised.

"Yes?"

"Oh my god! Seriously can't you see it?!" she groaned snatching the paper back. "Alphard, is a star in the Hydra constellation. HYDRA! Mom wasn't just talking about a person. She was talking about that secret organization, and that Alphard guy who beat me up said he knew about _both_ my parents. If I want to know what happened to my parents I'd have to find Hydra and-"

"That is out of the question!" Stephen barked so fiercely that Buddy started growling protectively at Via's side.

"Down boy" she murmured patting the great animal on top of his shaggy head, glaring at Stephen.

"What do you mean, it's out of the question?! My mom's gone and I have no idea who my dad is. Heck! Nobody even knows WHAT happened to my mom when she disappeared. So far the only leads I've gotten have been from Hydra-"

"Hence why it's out of the question!" Stephen snapped only to be mowed over by Wong who had put a hand on his shoulder.

"Olivia, we understand you're excited by this news. We at the Order would also love to know what happened to your mother. But Hydra is not an organization to be trifled with. What you saw of them whilst I'm sure it was terrifying, was but the tip of the iceberg. You think they only deal with guns and hired goons? There are far worse kinds of people that have joined their cause, some who even have knowledge over the dark arts-"

"Like Fabian Russo?" Via rolled her eyes only to gulp as Stephen's gaze narrowed dangerously on her.

"Fabian Russo was but a fly in comparison to some of the sick twisted souls that dabble in the dark arts. And if keeping you safe means you quitting your work with the Avengers and keeping you tethered here at the Sanctum-"

"So what because you guys are spooked by this secret organization I'm just going to sit here tight in my room like a good little damsel in distress?! A prisoner in my own home?" Via snarled.

"You aren't a prisoner-" Stephen began but Via huffed.

"Oh yeah sure because tethering someone inside a building isn't keeping someone captive? Just like, oh I don't know, having armed guards point loaded guns at your back while pushing you to walk is just a normal everyday stroll?!"

She didn't realize she was shouting until she started panting. Nor did she realise she had tears falling down her face until she had to snivel through her nose.

 _Damn it!_

She cursed herself as she scrubbed her eyes with her pyjama sleeve, roughly pushing Stephen away as he tried to reach out for her.

"Don't! just don't. I-I need some-just don't." she strode back into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her and in the troubled face of her guardian.

Wong sighed heavily.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

 _The first day I spent recuperating back home at the Sanctum was…well… a tense one._

 _I know Stephen and Wong want what's best for me, but understand that up till that point in my life I'd had no parent set any rules or restrictions for me. EVER!_

 _Oh yeah sure, Milly and Bill both had their rules, but not because they cared. The rules back at the orphanage were mainly there to maintain order amongst the children, and to stop kids from "annoying them", which usually meant punishment for any toe out of line (or if Bill just felt like beating someone up that day)._

 _However I never really considered the Orphanage's rules to be…well rules. To me they seemed more like Guidelines on how to survive in what I'd thought to be hell. Otherwise I just did whatever the hell I wanted (granted I did my best to stay within the law)._

 _Needless to say I wasn't really keen on suddenly having my old freedoms curtailed when Stephen decided to adopt me. It wasn't that I didn't care for him, or understand his reasonings. I just felt that I'd done well enough sticking to my own guns and that I didn't need people dictating the terms of my life._

 _While Stephen's a little more relaxed nowadays (even though he's still a little bit of a control freak), back then his attempts to be the perfect parent were almost smothering._

 _It's no wonder I decided to do something as stupid as I did…_

* * *

"Brother?"

"Yes Sergei?" Cornelius Craven grunted as he and his brother reclined in their car seats.

"Are you sure it was alright for us to let her go like that?" Sergei Craven scowled as he dragged on his cigarette.

"Yep" Cornelius shrugged much to his brother's frustration

"-But the Avengers-"

"Let the Avengers have their little victory brother. It will be nothing compared to the reward that's in store for us"

"But we don't have the kid-"

"You idiot!" Cornelius spat over his brother's growls "This wasn't about capturing the kid. This was just setting the bait…the lure. Do you honestly think guys like the Avengers are just going to let us waltz in there and take a friend of theirs Scott free? No. This is a plan that requires delicate handling and careful preparation. We've already planted the seed in her mind-"

"And what magical seed is this?" Sergei grumbled only to be shut up by a glare from his brother.

"She wants to know about her mother. _We_ have the answers. So if she wants to figure everything out-"

"She'll have to come to us." Sergei nodded as understanding dawned.

"Yes. She'll come to us." Cornelius sighed as he glanced out the car window into the Manhattan street outside.

"We just have to be patient"

* * *

"So how do you think the kid's doing?" Clint sipped at his bottle of beer.

He, Steve and Thor were all sitting at the small bar on Tony's floor, getting served their drinks by said billionaire himself.

"I'm sure she's fine" Tony shrugged as he poured Thor his large tankard of beer one handed and passed it over the bar. "She's a tough kid. Remember what those guys from the helicopter said-"

"About her stabbing one of them in the leg? Yeah how could I not?" Steve muttered darkly as he sipped at his scotch.

"She was trying to defend herself friend Steve. And sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures" Thor gasped in relief as he finished his swig of beer.

"I know but…She's just a kid! Kid's shouldn't have a need to stab anyone for any reason!" Steve pinched the bridge of his nose.

"And yet they do" Clint rolled his eyes as he sipped his bottle "I gotta admit I'm surprised she even got hold of a knife to begin with. Hydra agents aren't exactly carefree when it comes to keeping prisoners."

"I'm not" Tony grunted "The girl can move pretty quietly when she wants to."

"That is true" Thor nodded "she is a good warrior in the making no doubt, but stealth is certainly her forte. No wonder Lady Natasha is fond of her-"

"Yeah and speaking of our hottest teammate where is she?" Tony turned to Clint who sighed heavily.

"Demolishing a punching bag."

"She's still riled up about the orphanage?" Steve frowned.

"Let's just say it brought back some unpleasant ghosts" Clint guzzled down the last of his drink. "Any chance of a top up?"

"Do you have to ask?" Tony smirked as he supplied another bottle quickly.

There was a beeping sound as Jarvis suddenly sprung into being.

"I'm sorry for the interruption sir but Stephen Strange is calling. He says its urgent"

"Alright put him on Jarv." Tony waved his hand dismissively as the call came through "Hi Houdini, how's it going?"

"I have no time for your stupidity _Stark_ " Stephen Strange snapped ferociously on the other end.

"Ouch, sounds like someone woke up on the wrong side of the magic carpet" Clint muttered softly to Thor and Steve who both smirked, only for their expressions to fall as the next sentence all but tumbled out of the sorcerers mouth.

"It's Via, she's gone"

* * *

She couldn't believe it.

She'd managed to get his sling ring!

Granted Stephen was too pre-occupied with looking after her that he didn't even notice her fingers quietly slipping into his belt and untying the ring while she gave him an impromptu hug goodnight.

She never liked pickpocketing when she was on the streets, but she had to admit it was proving to be a very handy skill.

Quietly as she could she quietly crouched low behind a bush in the shadows of a large armoured car.

It was one of Damage Control's and it was barely empty save one man sitting and watching surveillance footage inside. All his other fellows were currently standing around the tall dark looming shadow that had once been a Hydra facility.

A cold chill ran down her spine, but she quickly shook it off. No, she needed to do this.

Quietly as a shadow she snuck out from behind the car and slunk her way to the facility's grey wall. It was very tall, but with the web of Asibikaashi's she'd be able to scale it easily. She just had to make sure she wouldn't be seen.

She had wondered whether she should use the sling ring. But if she did she ran the risk of running into Damage Control, and the last thing she needed was for them to see her magic. Also she knew for a fact that Tony had equipped all his Damage Control Employees with the prototype magic sensor by now, which meant keeping spellcasting to a minimum was a must.

 _I'm sorry guys. But this is my mom…I gotta know what happened…_

She looked down at herself. She was wearing her mother's black ninja gear underneath her favourite blue and gold tailcoat, the hood of which she'd pulled up over her now masked face.

Well, at least she looked the part.

"Alright, let's do this"

And with that she jumped up on to the wall, landing on it in a crouch three meters higher than when she'd been standing.

 _So far so good_

She glanced down at the ground, where nothing seemed to have changed. In fact, no one seemed to have even cared for her presence.

 _So much for hiring the best of the best. These guys really aren't paying much attention._

She rolled her eyes as she climbed up the wall moving quickly out of the way of a roving search light as it passed her by.

 _Jesus, how does anyone breathe in this building?_

She wondered as she climbed higher. As far as she could see there were no windows anywhere along the wall, not even any sign of any vents as far as she could see. It was just a vast expanse of grey bricks or smooth glass panels that didn't open.

 _I must be crazy coming back here after all the shit that went down._

She thought to herself as she climbed higher and higher up the wall, not daring to look down for fear of pissing herself with fear.

 _Almost there…just a few storeys more…holy crap_

She huffed, wincing as her ribs twinged painfully. Crap. She'd forgotten about the bruises.

 _Come on Via just push through it, you're nearly there._

She sucked in a deep breath as she forced her hand to climb upwards again.

She was nearly there now, just a couple more meters-

"Phew!" she sighed softly as she finally dragged herself up over the edge of the circular tower roof.

 _Well…that was a task and a half!_

She looked down over the edge of the drop, smirking as she saw everything down below was still nice and quie-

"Ahem!"

She turned around. There standing behind her arms folded, was a tall dark bald man in a black trenchcoat and wearing a big black patch over one eye.

"Shit" she swore softly as Nick Fury smirked.

"It's a bit late to be out on a school night, Summers."

* * *

 **Hi guys, me again. PHEW! i finally managed to find some time to write (I've just been swamped with so much work come end of year). Anyways i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.**

 **So yeah, Via's safe and sound (or is she?). I know it seems kinda stupid of her to go BACK to the place that she was held captive, but then again she's not perfect and she's really desperate to find out the truth (especially with HYDRA seeming to know a lot about her parents).**

 **But in other news, I literally just saw Thor Ragnarok barely an hour ago! AHH! *Squeels* It's like super great because i literally just finished writing the chapter just ten minutes before i had to leave for the cinema and i was super nervous because i was wondering what to do with Via and her role in all the other future MCU (after Age of Ultron) and i am so glad i did because now i KNOW for certain that whatever future plans i had for her later adventures could definitely go ahead! I know i probably could go AU but so far i like the MCU major plot lines and it's been fun finding Via's place amidst them. But OH BOY! I can't wait to get her stuck into Thor Ragnarok.**

 **Anyways enough with my ramblings, I hope you enjoy reading and keep reviewing for more. Updates are probably going to be slow or irregular because of work and the lead up to XMas but i will do my best.**

 **Cheerio**

 **FuzzyBeta**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Murky Waters**

"Ahem!"

Via turned around. There standing behind her arms folded, was a tall dark bald man in a black trench coat and wearing a big black patch over one eye.

"Shit" she swore softly as Nick Fury smirked.

"It's a bit late to be out on a school night, Summers."

Via stared at the man.

"What the HELL are _you_ doing here?" she hissed, half caught between terror at being caught red handed and anger that the eye-patch wearing bastard was still smirking at her smugly.

"Oh you know, the same as you. Investigating this Hydra facility. Though unlike you I **have** the authorisation to be here."

"So what, Old Man Tony summoned you or something?"

"Let's just say I was investigating a personal matter and Stark just asked me to keep an eye out for you while I was here-"

"And what you just _magically_ knew I'd be up here on the roof?" Via rolled her eyes and Fury's smirk widened.

"No. But Strange knows you. He said you might make a move on this place given your desire to find out about your mother. Also, Stark may act like a royal pain but he's a stickler for details. Those suits for example-" He pointed to the sky, where Via could just make out two humanoid shapes hovering in the distance with lights glowing from their eyes, chests, palms and feet. "-had their eyes on you from the moment your portal spell's energy signature appeared. They tracked your progress as you scaled the building and were prepared to catch you should you fall. Oh yes and they also sent a message to the Avengers about your progress-"

"They're here?" Via frowned. She hadn't heard any planes or seen any new vehicles drive into the compound since she arrived.

"Strange brought them in himself. They're waiting for you in the big fancy office downstairs, the one that belonged to Alphard-"

"Yeah about him, who is he? He seemed to know a lot about me." Via narrowed her eyes up at Fury, who's smirk fell a little as he slowly stepped towards her hands slipping into his pockets.

"He was a junior SHIELD agent when your mother first met him, and since then he seems to have wormed his way up Hydra's greasy pole. From the files we've seen in this place he has taken charge of managing all Hydra's U.S. forces and resources, while his leader Strucker is away."

"Did the team capture him?" Via blurted out quickly but Fury shook his head.

"While Cap and Stark's forces managed to round up many Hydra agents, we were not able to capture Alphard. Nor did we find trace of the Craven brothers-"

"You mean…" Via breathed, horror filling her gut "Those two are still out there?"

"It seems that way" Fury sighed heavily, eyeing her with a grim expression "I gotta say, I'm a disappointed in you Summers."

"Yeah well, I've disappointed people all my life, why stop now?" Via grumbled, not quite meeting his one good eye. But he ignored her embarrassment as he pressed on.

"I really thought you'd know better than to fall for Hydra's trap-"

"Trap?"

"Let me guess, did they talk about your mother or your parents? Did they say that they'd give you answers if you joined them?"

"They-Ah! Yes." Via groaned as she slumped defeated on the floor, cheeks flaming red hot shame.

Not only had she been caught, but she'd been caught out doing one of the most stupid things ever in the history of stupid. Of course, those Hydra bastards were trying to reel her in with information about her mother. She had known that but still she dove right into the lion's mouth…or the hydra's mouth in this case.

"Well…I suppose I should've seen this coming" Fury sighed as he turned his good eye to look at the glorious night-time view of the forest behind her. "Once Hydra knows how to get under your skin, it's easy for them to manipulate you into doing shit you normally wouldn't do."

"I still got no excuse" Via muttered angrily to the concrete ground. "I was still the idiot who did the stupid shit right after everyone risked their hide to get me out of this godforsaken place."

"Damn straight" Fury agreed, his smirk returning, but not quite as smugly as he held his hand out for her to take. "Now get up. No doubt your guardian is getting antsy to see you."

"Oh joy"

* * *

 _Over the years I've done a great many stupid and selfish things. Running back to the Hydra base I was held hostage, that still takes a high spot in my top five most stupid ideas (Oh yeah I've got plenty more mistakes where that came from)._

 _I suppose it was a good thing I was caught before I could do anything stupider…even if the lecture I got from Stephen was damn near terrifying._

 _Seriously I don't think I've ever seen him get that mad. Not even when we used to hate each other's guts. And quite frankly, I really don't want to piss him off ever again._

* * *

They were in that Alphard's office. The one with the glass windows. Via had hoped to never be back here again, but there she was sitting and gulping down the urge to strike back as Stephen snarled into her face.

"What. Were. You. THINKING?!"

"gross" Via winced as Stephen Strange nearly all but spat straight into her face.

"SHUT UP!" Stephen barked, and she quickly clamped her lips shut tight as he towered over her. "You were injured. You needed to rest! Do you have any idea of the trouble you've caused? These people just risked their necks to come and rescue you from this hellhole and what do you go ahead and do? Yet you run back HERE of all places, just because you were too impatient to wait to get answers YOU wanted?!"

"I know it was stupid" Via looked down at her toes, doing her best to ignore the stares of Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff who were all watching on silently but worriedly.

She supposed this was Stephen's way of rubbing even more salt into the embarrassing self-imposed wound.

What she wasn't aware of was that the Avengers weren't looking disappointedly at her. If anything their gazes were those of pity as they glanced nervously between one another; wondering if they should intervene if things got too heated.

Thankfully they were saved the trouble when Wong grunted from Stephen's side.

"Strange…I think she understands"

Stephen paused about to retort, but then he looked down at Via. She looked downright miserable, but what caught him most off guard was the way the little jewelled eyes of her dragon bracelets were both glowing with an angry red.

He'd only ever seen them glow red once before, and the last time that happened Via had nearly strangled another girl in a literal blind fit of rage.

No…he himself might be angry beyond belief but it wouldn't do to push her so close to snapping…

He sighed, rubbing his temples, which he was certain was even greyer than before, courtesy of the girl sitting angry and humiliated in front of him.

"Wong, take Olivia home. I need to send this lot back to their tower"

Via nodded meekly, not even opening her mouth a peep as she chanced one last glance at the three Avengers, who all watched her as she followed Wong silently through a sling ring portal which shut promptly behind them.

"Well…at least she's okay." Tony mumbled from his corner, where quite frankly he was quite happy to stay in as it kept him well out of arms reach of the angry sorcerer.

"Thank you for your help Fury" Stephen grunted at Fury who nodded quietly from where he'd been standing in the shadows.

"Glad I could help. Freyja was a good friend of mine"

Stephen turned towards the two Avengers "Now what was it you said you had to show me."

"Right, show you. Nat?" Tony muttered glancing at Natasha who flicked out her glass smartphone.

"We've had Jarvis examine the footage from the building. We'll show you the full recording tomorrow but this is something we thought you should take a look at" the spy said as she pulled up a video on the small screen.

Stephen took the phone gingerly in his hands, his chest tightening horribly as he saw on the screen Via. She seemed to be in a dismal prison cell, lying still on a hard cot while someone in a lab coat poked and prodded her with a needle.

"Can I zoom in?" he asked and Tony shrugged.

"Yeah sure just go for it"

With trembling scarred fingers, he zoomed in the image on the screen, which became slightly pixelated, but still discernible.

But he didn't care about the video quality as his blood froze in his chest.

"They're…are they taking her blood?"

"They took two full units" Tony muttered, bristling angrily as he watched the moving images through the transparent back of the phone. "but that's not the worst bit. Jarvis skip ahead three minutes"

Natasha watched closely as Stephen's face paled to the colour of parchment.

"What the hell-" he growled. Where there had been bags of red blood being taken away from Via's body, there was now a syringe of something that had been injected into her arm.

"Do you know what it was they injected her with?" Fury scowled.

"Nutrients and vitamin supplements" Natasha murmured softly. "in highly concentrated doses."

"What kind of supplements?" Stephen's jaw hardened.

"Nothing dangerous" Bruce assured him quickly. "In fact it was probably necessary, given the amount of blood they took from her…but that's not the bad thing. The bad thing is-"

"Is that that cocktail of supplements…was the same one they used to give me before Steve was injected with Howard Starks super soldier serum" Natasha growled, her simmering anger barely hidden beneath the surface as she all but glared at the tiny device in Stephen's hands.

"What are you saying?" Stephen's heart was racing in his chest, and it only accelerated as Tony sucked in a deep breath.

"We're saying…that Hydra was prepping your ward to become their new Super Soldier…"

* * *

 _When Wong brought me back home, I immediately went to bed. I was tired, and staying up and climbing a massive wall past my bedtime had not helped matters._

 _Buddy joined me. He always sleeps on the end of my bed. Truth be told I'm kinda glad for the company because my bed's too big and I don't really take up that much space._

 _The next morning when I woke up it was ten in the morning and Stephen was still in bed. Apparently he had been talking to Bruce, Fury, Nat and Steve quite late into the morning. I wasn't sure what they talked about, but when I asked him what they talked about he didn't look to happy._

 _Though that may have been because he was still pissed off at me._

* * *

"Listen" Via gulped as she nervously fidgeted in her chair.

She was sitting in Stephen's private office, right under his disappointed glower as he quietly watched her squirm for the right words. She was still wearing the same black ninja gear and her blue coat from the night before, not having being bothered to change when she'd all but fell into her bed and slept till the morning.

"I know it was dangerous and risky and I stuffed up real big this time, and I know it probably doesn't make much of a difference, but I just wanted to say…I'm sorry. I'm sorry I stole your sling ring and I'm sorry I ran away…again. It was stupid a-a-and selfish and-and I should've known better then to do it. I-I just thought-"

"That you could find out what happened to your mother." Stephen finished for her. His voice was calm, and thankfully she could feel the anger dissipate somewhat as he sighed heavily.

"I understand that you're frustrated, that you want to know the truth. But what you did yesterday…that was beyond reckless. It was dangerous. Not all those Hydra men were captured and that base of theirs was large. If any one of them had been lying in wait for you, you could've gotten hurt, or worse you could've gotten others hurt-"

"I know" Via shut her eyes, but Stephen just steamrolled over her.

"-evidently not" he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Olivia…this isn't the streets of New York where you have to be selfish to get what you want. You have a home here, one where you will always be safe. You don't always have to be the tough kid-"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Via scowled but Stephen wasn't swayed one bit.

"I'm just saying…that there's nothing wrong with asking for help. You know Wong and I will always be there to help you-"

"No you won't" she mumbled glaring at her feet as she tucked them up on her chair.

"Yes we will" Stephen growled but she shook her head.

"No you won't"

"Olivia-"

"YOU WON'T ALWAYS BE THERE STEPHEN YOU AND I BOTH KNOW THAT!" Via snapped, eyes burning with hot wet tears as sparks of energy flying from her fingertips and burning the seat cushion. "Y-you can promise me the sun and the moon all you like but NOTHING will stop the fact that you cannot possibly be there for me always. NO one can. Not you, not Wong…Heck not even the Ancient one or Mordo could-DAMMIT!"

She bit down on the inside of her cheek as she felt her wet eyes stream over, and furiously began scrubbing at her eyes.

"Alright…maybe I can't be there for you _always_ " Stephen agreed quietly as he made the tissue box hover over to her.

"But if we're going to make this adoption work you're gonna have to stop keeping yourself so distant. How can I do right by you if you don't trust me to help you when you need it"

"I don't need help" she spat.

"All evidence to the contrary" Stephen countered swiftly "Via there's nothing wrong with needing help, we all need help occasionally-"

"Good line. Maybe I should use it on you whenever you sulk about something you need help on" Via rolled her eyes.

"There's a big difference between mere spell casting and emotional injury" Stephen leaned forward. "and you've just been through a terrifying ordeal-"

"No really? Because I thought all the guns pointed at my back and the punches to my face were simply charming" Via snivelled bitterly.

"-As I said you've been through a lot recently. A new job, a kidnapping… Maybe it's a good idea to just slow down and take a breather." Stephen steamrolled over her, firmly but gently, his eyes wells of compassion.

Via wished he wouldn't. It made it difficult to keep snarky or defensive like normal.

"So what's going to happen with helping the Avengers?" She asked eyes glued on the study's carpeted floor.

"You'll be giving them your statement of events this evening. Then you'll have the rest of the week off here to recuperate. But you'll start working with them again next week to look for the sceptre."

"You mean…you're letting me-" Via breathed and Stephen nodded sombrely.

"I might as well. We both know that even if I didn't allow you, you'd go ahead anyway. This way at least I can be assured you'll be safe, or at least as safe as possible. However, this time we'll have to take more stringent measures to not let Hydra capture you again"

"What kind of measures?"

"I don't know. I'll have to talk it over with Stark when you're giving them your account. U-unless you want me there with you."

"Why? Who'll be interrogating me this time?" Via snorted.

"Don't know. Someone from the team I suppose" Stephen shrugged. "Are you sure you're going to be fine?"

"Yeah…I…I think so. But thanks" She added, tentatively meeting his eye "So…we're good?"

"Yes. But don't steal my stuff again unless you want me to dump you in a dimension of slime… _brat_ " Stephen smirked.

"Wouldn't dream of it _doc._ " let out a small nervous breathless giggle as for the first time that week, the shadow of a small smirk, flickered over both master and apprentice's faces.

* * *

 _The rest of the day passed by more smoothly after our chat. But Stephen still refused to tell me what he and the Avengers and Nick Fury talked about the day before when I'd left._

 _He said it would be explained to me in due time, and that I just had to be patient. Whilst I admit patience is not really one of my strong points, I did manage to keep my cool while we waited for five o clock to arrive._

 _When it did, we used a sling ring portal to the tower._

 _I got to admit, it felt odd being at the Tower in my sorcerer's clothes. Up till that point I'd only ever appeared to the rest of the team in normal clothes. So when they first saw me in (what Thor calls) my "battle suit" I couldn't blame them for looking surprised._

* * *

 _"_ Would you cut that out?" Via scowled as Tony grinned mid whistle.

"Cut what out?" he asked oh-so-innocently, much to the exasperation of the girl and the other Avengers in the room with him.

"Whistling _that song!_ I know I'm the sorcerer's apprentice but that doesn't mean you have to whistle the tune every single time you see me!"

"Well someone's grouchy this morning. What's the matter kid? Did your potion blow up in your face or are you just tired from your Mission Impossible stunt?" He ended, sparing her a small glower which she returned with interest.

"Alright enough you two." Steve Rogers narrowed his eyes on the other side of the conference room table, before turning to Bruce Banner who was sitting with a data-pad "Bruce are you alright to start?"

"Yes. If Via is. Via?"

"Let's just get this over with." Via grunted as she leaned back in the chair, bristling as the spotlight fell on her.

"So Via, I'm just going to ask you a few questions to ease you into the process and then if you're feeling up for it, we'll delve deeper." Bruce pushed up his glasses as he glanced anxiously up at the teenage girl.

Via just raised her eyebrows quietly at him and shrugged, though the rest of the Avengers could see her stiffen ever so slightly in her spot as her questioner cleared his throat.

"Alright then. What did you do in the morning before the kidnapping?"

"Woke up at nine." Via sighed "Ate breakfast with Wong and Stephen, walked Buddy-"

"Buddy?"

"The Sanctum's dog." Via rolled her eyes "anyways I walked Buddy, got dressed and then got picked up by Tony and Happy in the car at about eleven"

"Right. And this was the car for Oscorp?" Bruce glanced at Tony who nodded.

"Yeah, the kid and I got there at eleven thirty and were taken upstairs to meet Osborne. But good old Oz wanted to keep things hush-hush so I sent Happy outside and told Via to go case the joint downstairs and get a good look at Osborne's security-"

"You did _what_?" Natasha's eyes widened dangerously as Steve shook his head.

"Tony-"

"What? You said yourself that we needed to case the joint. And she was there, she was eager"

"For the record he didn't tell me he hadn't told you guys" Via's smirk widened as the billionaire hero scowled at her.

"Way to have my back mission impossible-"

"And back to the matter at hand" Bruce steamrolled over Tony's grumpy mutterings under his breath as he turned back to Via "So Tony sent you to case the joint downstairs. What happened?"

"I went down to the lobby and stuck myself onto the tail of a school tour. Talked to a couple of kids and when we got upstairs I pretended to go to the bathroom-"

"-Where she went dark on me in the middle of a phone call and peeked in on a radioactive laboratory" Tony piped in snidely.

"You really aren't going to let that rest are you?" Via rolled her eyes irritably but was stopped by Steve clearing his throat, this time in warning.

"So that explains why Tony wanted the radiation chamber prepped. Though Hydra seems to have done the job already. Then what happened?"

"So after finding the lab, I went downstairs to the lobby to meet Tony and Happy. We got into the car. Old man lectured me about the dangers of radiation. And then..." She mimed a large explosion.

"The car was smashed by the Cravens-" Clint finished for her and she rolled her eyes again.

"Boom! Give the avenger a prize. Yeah they pretty much mowed us over. Speaking of which how's Happy? Is he okay? Stephen said he was at the hospital-"

"Happy's fine. Got a few broken bones but he's awake now and doin' okay" Tony nodded some of his snark simmering down as it was replaced by guilt, which was mirrored in Via's face.

"Thank god. When we got bowled over I thought…well…" she shivered, before coughing quickly "But he's all good now so I guess that's all that matters"

"Yeah, it is" Tony agreed solemnly "So what happened after that? I remember Craven dragging you out of the car but I blacked out-"

"So did I" Via sighed heavily. "When I woke up I was in this basement. Looked damn familiar but I couldn't quite tell where the hell I was. They had me strapped to this chair, arms, legs everything. I could barely move. And when I did find my feet I fell and couldn't get up."

"You were at the Hope Haven Orphanage basement" Natasha explained, her voice soft but seething as her eyes burned with anger. "We found traces of your blood on the floor and this"

She slid something metallic across the table.

"My sling ring" Via muttered again, relief flooding through her as she picked the golden ring up in her hands. "I was wondering where this got to. Thanks Nat" she quickly pocketed it, steamrolling over Tony's spluttering question smoothly.

"So yeah, they had me tied up for a few hours. Sergei Craven, or whoever he is, he had a few rounds at my gut and face before they blindfolded me and carted me out back into the truck. I knew I was running out of time so I…well…"

"You contacted Tony through the dream dimension" Bruce finished quietly "Yeah, he told us."

"How did you manage it, if you don't mind me asking Lady Via?" Thor frowned thoughtfully, stroking his beard "Dream walking is advanced magic. There are very few sorcerer's who I've met that are capable of such feats"

"It's this" Via pulled out the golden dreamcatcher from her collar. "The Web of Asibikaashi. The Spider Mother from Native American folklore. Any sorcerer who wears this becomes her…uh…representative. No that's the wrong word, uh…they take her place as protector of the Dream Dimension."

"That sounds like a huge responsibility for a fourteen-year-old" Clint took a sip from his soda cup straw.

"Yeah well…I didn't exactly ask for it. I was given it by an old lady called Fala, just before she was killed."

"By who?" Steve glanced worriedly.

"A rogue sorcerer." Via clipped fists clenching briefly "It's a long story okay. And we've got more important things to worry about"

"like the Craven brothers" Steve murmured softly. "So you'd contacted Tony through his dreams. What happened next?"

"I woke up, but I was still stuck in the Craven's truck. After a while of sitting and feeling sorry for myself I decided enough was enough. So I bucked up and broke out of the back of the car."

"And how did you manage that if you were bound?" Tony frowned.

"I broke out of course. Besides it was only duck-tape-" Via shrugged.

"You broke out of duck-tape?" Clint stared at her in disbelief. "With what? A knife?"

"No…I just broke it. Y'know like this" she lifted her arms up, keeping them together at the wrists before swinging them down hard and fast, yanking them apart as the tips of her fingers reached the bottom of the smooth arc.

"Well it didn't break on the first try but it got it loose enough. It's just a technique to break someone's hold so…uh…I figured it would work and it did and…uh…" She blushed unnerved by the stunned faces turned on her.

"Jarvis, memo to me, re-evaluate Mission Impossible's strength next training session" Tony mumbled under his breath much to Via's confusion.

"huh?"

"So you broke out of the duck-tape" Natasha said pointedly, kicking a still shocked Steve under the table "how did you unlock the door? That car they used can't be opened from the inside"

"Uh…just a simple unlocking spell" Via frowned in confusion. "It was a mechanical lock, so it was easy to undo. If it had been digital I would've had a problem"

"…right…" Clint glanced sidelong at Bruce who looked back down and typed something out on his touch-screen.

"So you opened the door. What happened next?"

With another heavy sigh (Goodness she was really sighing a lot nowadays) Via explained how she'd run into the forest, how the Craven brother's had both chased her towards the lake. How she'd stupidly jumped into the lake and nearly drowned herself on purpose. It was at this point she heard Tony mumble something about adding swimming lessons to her roster. Then it was onto her time at Hydra, of how she was brought up to Alphard's office. Of all the hints and riddles they kept spouting out about her mother before giving her the run down on what they were going to do to make her an asset just like the mysterious Winter Soldier. She paused as she heard Steve give a sharp intake of breath.

"What? Was it something I said?" Via blinked nervously at the room at large.

"No…it's just…" Steve put his face in his hand. "They actually said that? That they wanted you to become like the Winter Soldier?"

"Yeah…well…not in that many words but yeah. Why? Who is he?" Via gulped.

"He's cap's old friend from the second world war" Natasha explained quietly, her face grim "James Buchanan Barnes. Also known as Bucky. Long story short he was captured by Hydra and turned into their experimental guinea pig slash top assassin. However, he escaped from their control about a year and a half ago right after the fall of SHIELD"

"Right…and let me guess. You guys have no idea where he is now?" Via folded her arms rolling her eyes as Natasha nodded "And I'm the new replacement?"

"You and a few others" Bruce pushed his data pad across the table at her.

Via looked down, her heart almost stopping as she caught sight of all the photographs of children.

"Wait… Marko, Halley, Jim-I know these kids. We were at the orphanage together…what's going on?"

The fearful waver in her voice was almost heart wrenching as she looked up at the team with horrified wide eyes.

"Via…your orphanage…" Clint leaned forwards, face a mask of discomfort "…it was a Hydra recruitment centre."

"A recruitment _what_?" Via gaped open mouthed.

"A recruitment centre" Natasha explained calmly "It's where secret agencies like HYDRA sometimes go to recruit new members along with certain prisons and juvie. Most places are unaware that they are recruitment centres, but a select few were built exactly for that purpose and are run by agents themselves. Your orphanage was one of those places"

"Y-you mean to tell me…that I…those kids…Hydra was gonna…oh god" she shut her eyes and sucked in a deep breath head in her hands.

Her head was swimming. It was like she was underwater, as the comforting hand on her shoulder sounded so distant to her ears as a worried voice asked:

"Are you alright?"

"Oh yeah. Just fine and dandy. Yeah sure I just found out that the bastards who kept me under their roof were working for the same bastards who just tried kidnapping me and were responsible for the deaths of millions of people, some of them sorcerers, and one of them quite possibly my mother- But yeah I'm totally super" she snapped, not looking up from her hands.

She could just see it now. All those kids she knew, waiting in dark cells like she had been. All of them had probably thought they'd be going somewhere safe and happy. Instead they were prisoners, subjected to brainwashing, torture and who knows what horrors. It was enough to make her stomach turn.

She might not have gotten along with all of them, but still she had grown up with them around her, and she never truly wished any of them harm. To think that HYDRA might have them in their clutches…that they were being sold off like cattle to the slaughterhouse…

All these thoughts ran rampant through her head as she steeled herself and began telling the rest of her account of her capture, right up to the point the team had rescued her.

 _Keep breathing…just keep breathing._

She told herself as she forced herself to emotionlessly speak of how she managed to get the helicopter to land. She didn't even register the slightly alarmed looks on their faces as she spoke of stabbing the hydra agent in the leg before holding Alphard to ransom.

Her actions no longer mattered. She could've killed a man and confessed, and she couldn't have cared. All she could think about was those kids…

"Olivia..."

A hand shook her shoulder gently. A heavily scarred one.

Via blinked, looking down at the table where her hands were now placed. They were balled into such tight fists that her knuckles were chalk white. She sighed and released her grip, wincing as she felt her palms sting.

"Sorry" she mumbled as she caught sight of the small cuts her nails had dug into her palms.

"It's alright." She heard Stephen's voice murmur gently before speaking to someone else.

"We should probably go home."

"Yeah…you should. We got the answers we needed anyway." She heard Steve's voice mutter as he turned to face her.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead just patted a hand on her shoulder and muttered.

"Rest up kid. It wasn't easy what you did…. but you did good"

"Thanks" Via murmured softly, but everyone could hear her heart wasn't really in it as she was led outside the room and towards a sling ring portal Stephen had opened in the hallway.

As soon as they heard the portal shut, Tony swore softly.

"Crap…that was…"

"Intense?" Clint provided with a small snort as the man of iron bristled.

"I was going to say scary, but yeah intense works too."

"It's not an easy thing, to learn of such horrors so early in one's life." Thor agreed his tone unusually grim. "I for one do not blame her for feeling angry-"

"She's not angry. She's confused" Steve mumbled as he took back the data-pad from Via's empty spot. "She's had so many things happen to her in such a short space of time, and she doesn't know what it all means. I'm just surprised she hasn't had a nervous breakdown yet"

"I'm not" Bruce murmured, eyes glowing faintly green as he took a breath to calm himself "Strange may not be the most _approachable_ of human beings but they both seem extremely comfortable with one another. Which is good. She'll need that if she'd going to get through any of this in one piece."

"Bruce is right" Tony nodded quietly "but still, she needs more than just Stephen Strange. The fact that she ran away last night proves she still doesn't trust anyone completely-"

"Like how you don't trust us enough to tell us when you're sending a teenager to case the joint of Oscorp?" Clint narrowed his sharp grey eyes at his friend who shifted uncomfortably in his seat once more.

"I was going to tell you guys…but I ran out of time."

"Translation, you were going to tell us AFTER it happened" Natasha sighed in exasperation as Steve rolled his eyes.

"Tony this is a team. If we're going to work effectively, we're must communicate. Not do stuff behind each other's backs and tell them after the fact. Anyways what were you thinking? She's a kid? What if something had happened to her?"

"But they didn't" Tony groaned "You didn't see her at Oscorp. She was walking beside me, cameras were flashing, people were ogling and still nobody noticed her. You can't buy skills like that."

"He is right you know" Thor piped in much to everyone's surprise "Lady Via does have quite a gift with keeping herself unseen. For sure people notice her beauty, but that's the very thing that keeps her hidden from suspicion. In that way she's a lot like my brother. People always underestimated his strengths because he played on his meeker appearance and he was still able to nearly take over this planet. Is it any wonder that HYDRA, an organization obsessed with secrecy, would want her to be one of their _assets._ "

There was silence as they all mulled over the God of Thunder's words. While they all disliked his brother, they had to admit he was still one of their most challenging enemies to date. Not that, that made any of them feeling any better about their current predicament.

"Fine, so the kid is good with stealth. We get it." Clint growled shook his head out glaring at Tony "But Cap's right Tony. You can't just keep us in the dark about these things. What if one of Osborne's guys caught her? At least if you had told us we could've been back up if she needed to get out safely."

Tony opened his mouth to speak, but shut it hastily. Obviously, he hadn't thought of that scenario before going on ahead with his plan.

"Okay" he conceded bitterly "Yeah, maybe I should've told you guys I'd changed the plan…"

"But?" Steve folded his arms irritably.

"But now we know what Project Weaver is all about, and we have an idea of the security measures we need to get past before we go in."

*sigh* "Tony…"

* * *

"Olivia?"

Via blinked. It was dark, nearly midnight. She was sitting at her desk in her bedroom back at the Sanctum Sanctorum, glazing out over one of the many spell books Wong had gotten for her from the Kamar-Taj library under the light of the one solitary desk lamp.

"Hey" She managed a small weak smile as the silhouette of Stephen Strange stepped into the room.

"It's a bit late to be up isn't it?" he smirked gently from his spot at the door, or at least she thought he smirked, for his face was almost cast completely in shadow.

"Couldn't sleep" she mumbled turning back to the page, her fingers tracing the sketch of an oddly shaped mandala spell "Thought I could take my mind of stuff"

"By studying?" Stephen snorted, though it sounded slightly odd to her ears. And what was that buzzing she could hear?

"What? You'd rather me be up doing drugs or what?" she rolled her eyes as she reached down for the source of the buzzing, only to find nothing there.

"Shit. Must be on my bed. Doc do you think you could just-" she stopped dead as she turned back around in her chair to face him…

For there standing behind her, was Cornelius Craven, with his pale pointed face and his beady black eyes narrowed down victoriously at her as he stepped towards her.

"Hello kid. Miss me?"

"GET AWAY FROM ME-MHPH!" Via tried to balk to the side only to be grabbed by a pair of pale claw like hands, one of which smothered her mouth.

She struggled wildly but it was no use as horrible dark shadowy mist suddenly surrounded her. Black tentacles of slime and darkness slipped out from it and coiling around her body, trapping it as she whimpered and kicked at her attacker, who was now looming over her, his features distorting with every word.

"It's no use. You cannot escape this." He hissed as his face contorted into another shape altogether.

Now above her was a man with one brown eye and one milky white surrounded by horrible burnt scars. He stared back at her from the midst of black smoke his mouth splitting open in a wide taut leer to reveal a pair of sharp canines amidst yellowing teeth.

"You…you killed me. You killed me and you will pay."

"No…" Tears now streamed down Via's face as she tried to turn away. The buzzing in her ears was growing louder and louder.

She struggled frantically, her screams muffled by the force that covered her mouth as she felt her shoulders both burn.

"How does it feel?" Fabian Russo sneered blood dripping from his open mouth and onto her face. "the pain…the burning pain. Isn't it glorious?"

She yelped as she felt something sharp pierce into her gut. But the blackness held her still as the face of Fabian Russo bared down over her, features twisting and bulging as they transformed. This time the skin became younger, both eyes turned brown as a handsome face snarled down viciously at her.

"Cass" she managed to gulp as Cassian Russo now leant in to whisper into her ear hands wrapping around her throat.

"It's all your fault. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have to do this-"

"No Cass! No-stop-NO-N-" but her screams were smothered as her head was suddenly dunked deep under ice cold water.

She writhed fiercely as she felt the tentacles and darkness suddenly leave her body, only to be replaced by the crushing weight of the dark waters around her.

 _No-it can't be this way! It can't end like this!_

She thought desperately as her arms flailed upwards towards the surface of the water. But it was no use, no matter how hard she kicked upwards she couldn't make it.

Her scream billowed out into the water in large bubbles as she felt what felt like millions of dark slimy hands suddenly grab her from behind and start dragging her downwards.

The buzzing in her ears grew louder, so loud that it rang straight through her like the rumble of a chainsaw.

She tried screaming, but no sooner had she turned to fight the things off her, she saw something that made her heart stop.

There…floating a few meters away, pale and lifeless was a ten-year-old boy. His blue eyes were vacant, his blue lips parted gently as he stared up at the water's surface, his neck collared by dark red hand marks.

She stared aghast, barely registering the slimy hands grip tightening on her as they pulled her down. As she descended she saw other small figures floating about her, each one marred differently, all with blank staring eyes-

* * *

"AGHA!"

Via cried out, cold night air filling her lungs as she balked up to sit.

"What…the hell…." She panted as she looked around. She was still sitting at her desk, her clock on it reading two-thirty in the morning, though she could've sworn she'd only sat down at nine-thirty…

 _Must've dozed off_

She groaned, wiping her forehead with glistened with sweat before scrubbing her tearful eyes. She felt something large, warm and hairy nudge her softly and looked down just in time for Buddy to lick her face.

"I'm okay boy" she whispered, scratching the dog's head affectionately as he whined worriedly up at her. "Just a stupid nightmare"

That being said, it had been a long while since she'd had a nightmare. Especially one so vivid and horrific.

"I wonder what-Oh yeah…right…" she muttered to herself as she reached out and picked up the Web of Asibikaashi, which was resting on the top of a nearby book.

 _That's right…I took it off before my bath and forgot to put it on again._

She quickly slid the dreamcatcher around her neck, sighing as it leaked some of its invigorating power into her.

Buddy however wasn't so convinced and leaned up to lick at her face again.

"Yeah-yeah I love you too bud" she murmured, kissing the top of his head "I'm fine. Now stop being a silly-billy and come to bed. Come on" she stood up, leading the way to her bed.

Buddy was quick to take his spot at her feet as she settled beneath the covers. Though her heart was still hammering, the presence of Buddy with her was comforting as she reclined back to sit against her pillows, book in hand.

"You go to sleep." She assured the animal as he looked balefully up at her from his spot "I'll just cool off with this"

Buddy stared at her for a moment, almost as if he was contemplating a response. Indeed, Via could've sworn she'd seen him almost roll his eyes at her. But then the moment was gone and he'd rested his head on top of her ankle and shut his eyes.

She smiled softly as he quickly settled down to snore. Whenever other people saw Buddy, they were almost always scared by his massive size and shaggy appearance. But where people saw this massive beast, Via saw a gentle giant with the biggest cutest puppy dog eyes ever-

Something buzzed by her side and she jumped.

"Shit" she hissed as she looked down at her bedside table.

There sitting upon it, glowing in the dark was AURA, a bit scratched and scuffed but still operational. Tony had offered to repair her just before Via had sat down for her interrogation, but had never gotten the chance to examine the damage before Stephen had whisked his ward away.

Via glanced down at the screen curiously as she picked up her artificial friend from her bedside. While the golden metal back was scratched and scuffed, the glass front touch screen was barely marked. Tony had said she was made of rather sturdy material but still-

"Hmm…what's this?" Via frowned as she checked her messages. The earliest one was from Wong, reminding her of her appointment with Susanna Ericsson.

 _Whoa…totally forgot about that…better talk with Stephen about that-_

She gulped as she flicked down to the next set of messages. Most of them were from the Avengers and a couple from Stephen, and even a couple from Wong and Master Percival from London. All of them sounded worried and increasingly desperate as they tried to reach out to her.

 _Must've been from when we'd crashed_

She reasoned as she flicked down towards the bottommost message which turned out to be just a reminder for a missed call…from a few minutes ago…

 _Hmmm…odd…who could be calling me at this time?_

She frowned as she tried to look up the caller ID, only to find it was a blocked number.

"Probably a call center" she muttered to herself, but paused frowning.

No wait. Tony had told her that he'd set Aura up to automatically redirect any call center crap.

So who could it be?

At once a pair of dark beady eyes flashed over her minds eye and she shivered.

"No. just hold it together Vee. It's probably just a crank call."

 _Still…it couldn't hurt to find out…_

She pressed the call button and held it up to her ear.

 _Ring-RIIING! Ring-Riing!_

She pursed her lips as she waited, but the phone just continued to ring.

 _Ring-RIIING! Ring-Riing! Ring-_

There was a click.

Via's heart was pounding in her ears as she listened intently.

She could hear someone breathing on the other end.

"Uh…hello…" she licked her lips nervously.

"Hello Olivia" A deep voice whispered on the other end, a voice she knew only too well.

"Mordo?"

* * *

 **DUN-DUN-DUUUUN!**

 **And that's where i leave you guys. Via get's into trouble, learns some disturbing news, has an even more disturbing nightmare and why is Mordo calling her in the middle of the night? and how did he get her number? (hmmm...questions questions..)**

 **So yeah, i got to admit i was really happy with the responses to the previous chapter. The fact that some people actually got pissed off at Via's selfishness was great. i know it sounds strange but I don't want Via to be the "perfect character". I want her to be more real, and that means that just as much as i want her to be liked, i also want people to see her flaws and to point them out, because otherwise how will i make her grow? Anyways a** **t this point in her life she's scared and confused and falling back onto old habits, (which aren't exactly the best ones either) and also, she's a headstrong rebellious teenager with magic, she's going to make some screw ups at some point anyway.**

 **Well whatever enough of my ranting. If you enjoyed please read and review for more and hopefully i'll get the next chapter up before long :)**

 **Cheers**

 **FuzzyBeta**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Finding Your Feet**

"Hello Olivia"

The second Via Summers heard that that deep familiar voice in her ear, so many emotions began racing through her brain.

Relief, excitement, worry, anxiousness and even a small splash of anger as she breathed.

"Mordo?"

"Yes. It's me" Karl Mordo sighed. He sounded exhausted.

"Oh-my-god! Where-where are you? Are you okay?" Via hissed into her phone as she sat up straighter in bed.

"I'm fine Olivia" he assured her gently, but she could hear him heaving for breath. Something was wrong, she could feel it in her gut even as he made to say.

"But how I am, is not important. Are you alright? Are you safe?"

"Safe? What are you talking about- I'm in bed at the Sanctum?"

"Hydra kidnapped you" He cut across her firmly.

"Yeah but I'm fine-I'm okay they've-" Via stopped mid-sentence frowning.

She'd not had any contact with Mordo since Tony's party, and it didn't look like the Order had managed to establish any contact with him either since the battle with Kaesilius. So how on earth did he know about her kidnapping?

"Wait how did you hear about that? And how did you get my phone number?"

She couldn't see his face, but she did hear the small sharp intake of breath. She knew that sound all too well, it was the little quirk he had whenever he had to do some very fast thinking.

Eventually he sighed.

"That's not important right now. Are you alone?"

"…yeah...why?" Via stiffened where she sat as she glanced at the door of her bedroom.

Stephen's bedroom was just across the hall. If she could just quietly open the door on her end and sneak out to it and show him the message…

She cared for Mordo, even after both those times he'd left her behind. But there was something about his tone right now that set her on edge. That and he'd somehow managed to find out a way to contact her without anyone seemingly knowing how…

With careful, slow movements, she slid out of bed making a shushing motion to Buddy as he shifted in his sleep.

Meanwhile in her ear, Mordo had begun to speak again.

"I need you to listen very carefully. There is a lot going on now. Things that would take me a lifetime to explain."

"Really? You don't say." She muttered under her breath only to wince as he hissed in her ear.

"Olivia, this is important. There's a lot of dangerous things out there in the world. Far more than you can comprehend. You must promise me that you'll stay out of it all right. No matter what you hear, or see, you must stay out of it-"

"But how? And what is this danger? Mordo I'm already dragged into a whole lot of shit already-"

"There is a couple here in Sokovia. They have worked for my family for a long time. They're trustworthy, good, decent people. They've fostered many children, mostly boys but have always wanted a girl-"

"What? No- Stephen's already put the application for my adoption I can't just-"

"Stephen Strange is a part of the order of the Mystic Arts, the very order that was responsible for sending most of your family to their graves, including your mother." Mordo whispered, and though his voice was fierce, Via heard the almost tremulous waver underneath "You have been through enough pain and heartache, Olivia. You of all people deserve a normal life away from the Mystic Arts."

"Mordo, I can't just-" Via bit down on her lip pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I understand this is a lot to take in, but please think about it. I only want what's best for you. I will contact you again as soon as I am able. Till then, stay safe."

"Wait Mordo-" Via called out, but too late. He had already hung up.

She sighed heavily, a tear streaming down her cheek as she tried to catch her breath. She could feel the heavy weight of Buddy's head as the canine nuzzled the side of her face affectionately.

But it did little to assuage her heavy heart.

* * *

 _The phone call with Mordo… it's still not one of my best memories. Though now knowing what I do of his situation back then, I can kinda understand why he wanted to protect me…though that doesn't really make me feel any better about it._

 _Yeah…it was a pretty dark time in my life…_

 _I was just glad I wasn't facing it alone._

 _Even if it had to get slightly worse before it could get better._

* * *

"You okay?"

"…I'm fine. Just tired" Via mumbled as she drowsily shovelled her spoonful cereal into her mouth.

Stephen however didn't look convinced as he sipped his morning cup of coffee.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he leaned forwards.

"Just thinking about what happened with Hydra, is all" Via shook her head to clear it of cobwebs. "I still can't believe…what happened with those kids…"

"Neither can I." Stephen muttered darkly, but quelled his anger down as he reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "But we'll sort it out, I promise."

"We?" Via snorted and Stephen shrugged.

"I talked it over with the Order, given them your account of what happened to you. They weren't so keen on it, but I managed to convince them to help in the search for the Hydra facilities on the condition that you and I act as liaisons between the order and the Avengers. They believe two sorcerers out in the open is more than enough, having any more involved would jeopardize our position."

Via nodded quietly, her stomach churning as she remembered the voice of Mordo in her head.

 _That danger he was talking about…it couldn't be Hydra could it?_

"Doc I-" But she was interrupted by Wong barging into the room, computer tablet in hand.

"Strange. You have to see this" he growled as he all but stomped over to shove the tablet into a bewildered Stephen's hands.

As soon as the Doctor looked down at the screen his face paled to the shade of parchment. So quickly in fact that Via was worried he might faint.

"What is it?" She stood up quickly, tiredness forgotten as she peered over his shoulder.

It was an online article from the New York Times.

 _Breaking news: Man found dead in Workshop downtown Manhattan._

 _At ten pm last night, the body of construction worker Jonathan Pangborn (Age 46) was found lying dead in his workshop with a single stab wound to the heart and a broken back. His body was discovered by his long-time friend and colleague Rupert Frink (age 38) who had come to check in on Jonathan when he had failed to turn up to work two-_

"This week just keeps getting worse and worse" Stephen groaned as he shut the screen off.

"Huh? Who is this guy?" Via blinked but was ignored completely as Wong took the tablet back with a scowl.

"I've called the other masters for an emergency meeting. They'll be expecting you in half an hour at Kamar-Taj"

"Of course" Stephen stood up quickly, draining the last of his coffee in one gulp. "Olivia you stay here. Do not leave the sanctum, do not even step foot outside to throw out the trash. Wong-"

"I'll walk the dog" Wong nodded gruffly, as said dog came trotting into the kitchen tail wagging as Stephen passed him by with a short pat on his head.

"Wait Stephen!" Via grabbed his sleeve stopping him before he could get out the door. "What's going on? Who is this guy?"

Stephen opened his mouth to tell her to let go, but was stopped by the desperate pleading look on her face.

He usually hated it when she gave him that look but given the week she'd just had he wasn't sure he had the heart to fob it off.

 _Damn those puppy dog eyes._

"Come on" he steered her out of the doorway by the shoulder.

"Jonathan Pangborn was involved in a factory accident several years ago" He explained as she followed him to his bedroom where he promptly began changing from his sleepwear and into his sorcerer's garb. "When modern medicine proved unable to cure his condition he came to Kamar-Taj – hey do you mind getting me my-"

"Sure. So Pangborn was a sorcerer?" Via frowned as she handed Stephen his boots from the end of his large bed.

"Yes. But he never completed his training. All he wanted to do was get the use of his legs back, which he did before returning home-argh shit!" he cursed as his shaking fingers fumbled on one of the ties on his tunic.

"Here let me. So how do you know him?" Via frowned as she reached forwards to help him tie the small knot before moving to help him tie his arm bracers

"I found him when I was trying to cure my hands" Stephen murmured quietly as he watched her fingers dexterously work on the wrist before switching to the other side. "I had exhausted all my other options and no amount of surgery or medicine could undo the damage. Then my physical therapist told me that he once knew a guy paralysed from the waist down with no hope of ever recovering, who just walked past him in the street. He even brought me his X-rays and gave me his address. When I found Pangborn I couldn't believe what I was seeing. He should've been confined to a wheelchair and have a carer helping him, but there he was running, jumping, playing basketball. I asked him how he cured himself and he told me about Kamar-Taj-"

"So that's why you travelled to Tibet" Via sighed as understanding dawned on her.

"Yeah. I actually arrived the same day you did now that I think about it" Stephen snorted. "Though unlike you I had to literally beg on the doorstep to get in"

"Seriously?" Via raised her eyebrows.

"Seriously" Stephen rolled his eyes as he stood back and straightened his collar.

"Thanks" he muttered as he examined his cuffs.

"Don't mention it" Via nodded gently punching his shoulder, before walking over to the open bedroom doorway and leaning against it.

"So…Hydra kidnaps me. An ex-sorcerer is killed in New York...This **can't** be a coincidence" she murmured, more to herself than to anyone else.

"No it can't" Stephen grimly agreed as he combed his hair in his mirror. As he did he caught sight of her stricken, downcast expression.

"Olivia"

"Hmm?" she looked up, blinking in surprise as he turned back to look at her.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Stephen…" Via shut her mouth quickly.

No. He had enough on his plate to worry about without her adding to it.

"I'm okay. I just…need a bit of time to process all of it I guess."

Stephen looked like he wanted to object, but decided against it, instead choosing to nod at her.

"Alright. But if you do need to talk just-"

"I know. But thanks" the corners of her mouth twitched upwards as she left the room. As she did, Stephen could not help but notice the slight hunch in her back and the slowness of her steps.

It was alarming to see the bright and feisty girl he once knew so down and depressed. His scowl deepened as he thought back to the Hydra facility. He'd not seen much of it in his brief visit, but what he had seen from the security footage was enough to make his blood boil.

It didn't help when his thoughts went back to all those missing children. Though he wasn't the best with kids, his inner doctor practically seethed at the thought of those monsters purposefully hurting them, mutating them into something else.

It was one thing to take an enemy hostage, but a complete other to endanger the lives of the innocent.

Like Via. She wasn't her mother.

Oh yes, sure, she looked almost exactly like her (a fact that sometimes disturbed Stephen greatly) but they weren't the same person.

Via herself didn't even know about the secret organization, at least not until they'd kidnapped her. Now he was sure she'd do whatever it took to take them down once she'd gotten her fight back, again something that troubled him.

He was glad Wong came into the room at that moment because he was very close to using his magic to break something.

Apparently, Wong guessed his thoughts because he said carefully.

"Strange, its time"

"I'm coming" Stephen grunted as he gestured to the Cloak of Levitation, which flew off his desk chair to settle around his shoulders. Its weight was comforting even as he stormed out the room leaving a sighing Wong in his wake.

* * *

 _After everything that had happened, I was frightened as all hell. First getting kidnapped, then finding out about the other kids from my orphanage had also been taken by the same people and to top it off Mordo's disturbing call…_

 _For the first time since coming to stay at the Sanctum, I was more than willing to be cooped up inside it, cut off from the outside world in a safe little bubble._

 _Too bad the outside world had other plans for me_

* * *

Via smiled wide as she stirred through a large wok filled with hot steaming chicken and vegetable rice stir-fry. At her legs, Buddy was pacing up and down, sniffing up hopefully towards the smell of the cooking meat that wafted through the air.

Via gave a small smile as she pushed the dogs nose down humming softly under her breath.

"Salagadoola mechicka boola. Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo. Put them together and what have you got? Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo-"

Normally she would've abhorred the idea of singing Disney out loud, but the age-old tune was stuck in her head and just wouldn't get out. So, she had resigned herself to following the advice of her best friend Meeta, and just "sang the darn tune out loud" before it drove her insane.

Hey it wasn't her fault the tune was so catchy.

"Yes, salagadoola means, Mechicka booleroo. But the thingmabob that does the job Is bibbidi-bobbidi-"

"BOO!"

Via squeaked, nearly sending the wok flying as she spun around to face the source of the noise, which had just started chuckling heartily.

"Tony? What the _hell_ are you doing here?" Via sighed, clutching a hand to her heart as Tony Stark sauntered into the kitchen in a T-shirt and suit, his broken arm still in a sling.

"Collecting for charity" the Billionaire smirked. "You really should've seen your face."

"Yeah. Maybe." Via scowled as she turned back to check her wok. Thankfully nothing was spilled or else the Avengers would receive the ashes of their man of iron in a shoe box.

"So Old Man what brings you to my neck of the woods? And who let you in?" she clipped as she sucked in a deep soothing breath to steady her nerves.

"Firstly I had to talk -wow that really smells nice" Tony muttered distractedly brow furrowing as he pointed to the wok. "Did you just-"

"Yeah, it's my lunch. Now who did you have to talk to?" she put her hands on her hips as she finished shutting off the stove.

"Oh yeah right of course. Sorry it's just-that really smells good-" Tony stopped short as his stomach gurgled loudly much to his own embarrassment.

Despite herself, Via couldn't help but smirk.

"Would you like a bowl?" She asked.

"Yeah, I would-if it's alright with you?" Tony added quickly, glancing around nervously as if expecting to be caught out.

"Don't worry. There's more than enough. I made extra just in case Wong or Stephen wanted seconds" Via chuckled as she served him a bowl with a spoon "Anything to drink?"

"Just water, thanks"

There was a brief silence as she poured him a glass from the fridge filter, before serving herself her own food and drink.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" she frowned as she sat up on the kitchen counter to eat.

"Well" Tony sighed after a sip of water "I wanted to talk to Strange but your buddy Wong said he's out for the day"

"Emergency meeting with the Order" Via mumbled, eyes falling to her rice.

"Emergency? What happened?" Tony frowned.

Via pursed her lips. Should she tell him? Would Stephen mind her telling him? It was the order's business after all, but still…what if it was linked to Hydra?

"I don't know if you heard about Jonathan Pangborn?" she started slowly and Tony nodded.

"Uh-huh, it was all over the morning news. A pretty gruesome attack huh?"

"Yeah…well…apparently he used to be a sorcerer"

Tony's spoon holding hand stilled mid air as he stared at her.

"Come again?"

"He was a sorcerer. He came to Kamar-taj to learn magic to heal his back and legs, which he did. But instead of continuing his training, he left and returned to a normal life. And now…"

"He's dead-" Tony finished quietly "Shit…well…that…explains a lot"

"What do you mean?" Via narrowed her eyes suspiciously and Tony bristled uncomfortably.

"I had Jarvis hack into the police reports. Childs play really. But according to forensics, the body had been preserved by being frozen in ice which only melted an hour before the body was found. Which is weird because all security footage of the building shows is that Pangborn went into the building two weeks ago, but never came out. No one even went into that workshop until his friend decided to pop in."

"The footage could've been tampered with?" Via suggested.

"Yeah but there were people living in that complex above the workshop as well, and they also said they saw nothing." Tony shrugged.

"They could be trying to keep quiet for their own safety." Via countered quickly "after all he was murdered. The last thing anyone wants is to be caught out by his killer"

"Maybe. But that still doesn't explain how no one saw his murderer bringing in buckets of ice to dunk him with. Let alone how so much ice that was frozen solid, just melted at the drop of a hat when it had remained frozen for nearly two weeks. Heck the room didn't even have a refrigerator"

"I guess" Via murmured softly but unsurely. "But even if it was magic that was used to freeze him, the murderer would have to be a pretty powerful sorcerer to pull it off. Elemental magic is incredibly dangerous, not to mention extremely advanced stuff. It would take a master to-"

She stopped abruptly, her voice catching in her throat as her gaze briefly caught sight of the kitchen door.

Stephen was standing there, arms folded, face set in a small frown.

He looked tired, worn out, but worst still was how worried he looked as he stared at Via.

"Stephen…hey. Welcome back." Via smiled nervously jerking her thumb at the wok behind her "Uh…I made lunch"

"I know, I could smell it all the way down the hall" Stephen forced a small smile onto his face, one that did not quite reach his eyes. "Stark. What a pleasant surprise. I was just coming to see you"

"Well you did call and ask me to come here" Tony shrugged "We were just talking about Pangborn, apparently he was one of your wizard buddies"

"You told him?" Stephen frowned at Via who blushed embarrassed.

"Yeah, I figured the attack might be linked to Hydra's recent activity-"

"It's not" Stephen murmured, his voice somehow graver than normal "or at least we don't think the attacker is part of Hydra, though the timing is somewhat suspicious"

"You think it's a rogue or something targeting you guys?" Stark grunted through a mouthful of rice.

"Something along those lines" Stephen muttered not quite meeting Via's eyes as he said.

"I know you're still eating, but I need to have a private word with Stark-"

"I'll eat in the living room" Via nodded in understanding, picking up her half full bowl and water.

Tony watched interestedly as she quietly brushed Stephen with her shoulder as she passed. It wasn't a hard hit, just a gentle affectionate nudge as she passed him by. When he saw the gigantic dog follow her out of the room however, he nearly jumped from his seat.

"Whoa…that's one big beast"

"That's Buddy. Olivia named him" Stephen snorted as he served himself his own lunch, his ward and pet both padding out the door which they shut gently behind them.

"She's a good kid. A bit rough around the edges but good. And a damn good cook too." Tony snorted through another mouthful of food. "You're a lucky guy, Strange"

"Oh believe me I know" Stephen nodded quietly, though his face was still very grim and worn.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Tony sipped his water.

Stephen sucked in a deep breath.

* * *

Karl Mordo stared down at the man that lay at his feet. He was a tall man, or at least he'd once been tall and proud and stout. Now he was spluttering for breath as he clutched at the stab wound to his stomach made by the strange crystalline shard Mordo held in his bloodied hands.

 _Another one dead. Another blight cleansed from this world…_

He thought grimly. Though he was sad for the loss of life, he had to admit he was the slightest bit relieved. The world still had far too many people like this man. So many who were arrogant and flaunted their powers or abused them…

 _A bit like Strange_

He thought bitterly, though he quickly shook that thought out of the way.

No…he shouldn't think about the doctor. Not now.

Despite his disappointment in the Doctor for taking up his position of Master of the Mystic arts, Mordo had to admit he was still rather fond of the man. Despite his arrogance there was, deep down a definite kindness and compassion that was rare in most people.

And there was no one who brought it out better than his new ward Via Summers.

Mordo felt his heart sting a little as he thought back to the young girl's anxious voice in his ear from the night before.

When he'd heard she had been kidnapped by Hydra from one of his contacts he'd nearly threw a heart attack. It took all his willpower NOT to intervene when his contact also told him of the Avenger's plans to rescue her.

 _So much for worlds greatest heroes if they let a young girl get kidnapped right under their very noses!_

He scoffed as he kicked hard at the struggling man at his feet, turning him over so that he could see the pallid fearful face. To any normal person, he would've just appeared to be merely a man in his late forties, with a squarish jaw and small eyes like a gorilla.

But to Mordo the face was one he loathed deeply, even though he hadn't seen it fully till this day.

"You" he snarled down to the terrified man "This is for all the suffering you've caused to all those children."

He pressed his booted foot against the throat of the dying man, relishing in his splutters.

"No please-"

"You can beg all you want, but you don't deserve mercy" Mordo spat, letting his rage fuel him as he pressed down harder on the man's neck, blocking off his airways "How many times did she beg you to stop when you beat her hmm? And don't bother trying to deny it, I've seen the marks myself."

He took derisive pleasure in watching his prey reach up with both his trembling hands in a feeble attempt to push him off.

"She must've been so scared" He pressed down harder. Now the man's face was turning blue. "But still you beat her. Why? Did you enjoy it? Did it make you feel powerful knowing you were hurting an innocent child?"

"S-Stop" the man rasped his eyes rolling back into his head.

There was a knock on the door.

"HEY! What's going on in there?!" a loud rough voice called.

Mordo glared down at the man below him.

"It looks like I'll be merciful after all…"

His leg struck out.

There was a sickening crack and then silence.

Then the door opened and the prison guard from outside gawked in shock and horror as he fumbled for his walkie talkie.

"Oh my god-Hawthorn here! Requesting emergency medical now for Billy Hope!"

* * *

As soon as they were out in the corridor, Via sighed heavily.

"I guess it's just you and me huh, Bud?" she glanced down at Buddy who huffed as he trotted in her wake.

She reached the lounge, her curiosity peaked despite her determination.

 _NO!_

She savagely bit down into her food as she settled herself on the couch.

 _No, if Doc wants to have a quiet talk with Stark that's his business._

 _But what is he hiding from you? He said you're one of his closest friends. What can't he trust YOU with?_

A nasty little voice hissed in the corner of her mind, but flew quickly from her mind as her phone buzzed in her pocket.

She picked it up quickly, her heart sinking as she saw the text message flashing over her screen.

"Up on the couch again?"

Via jumped, quickly relaxing as she caught sight of Wong staring down a sheepish looking Buddy, who quietly slunk off the couch and onto the floor.

"Oh come on he wasn't doing anything wrong" she quickly hid her phone in her pocket with a forced smirk.

"You say that, but wait till you have to clean all his fur out of the furniture." Wong grunted as he took one of the armchairs.

"What are you watching?"

"Don't know yet. I just sat down" Via shrugged reaching for the remote but Wong snatched it up quickly, and turned the television on, only to quickly switch as a news report on Jonathan Pangborn's murder flashed on the screen.

"I think that's enough horrors for one week." He grunted at her disappointed pout.

"Yeah but, don't you want to know what happened?"

"We already have a contact inside the police force. They'll give us more solid intel then what the media provides."

"Oh…okay. So was it just a regular murderer or another sorcerer?" she asked quickly much to the librarian's irritation.

"Don't know yet. We're still waiting for a full forensic report." He grunted as he finally picked the Animal Planet channel which was showcasing a Big Cat's documentary. "Here, this should be educational"

Via rolled her eyes.

"Wong, I'm fourteen not-whoa holy shit!" she cried out in surprise as she saw a lioness pounce upon a gazelle it's claws ripping straight through its hindquarters while anther one of its pride leapt for the prey's jugular in slow motion.

"Wow…they really aren't kidding about those teeth being deadly were they?" she gasped in amazement as they replayed the kill shot in slow motion. It was brutal and deadly, but Via had to admit there was a certain beauty to it.

While it was violent, it was not malicious, it was just nature. True survival of the fittest. Also it did help that the next shot showed the lionesses showing their litters of cute spotted cubs how to eat their kill.

"It's a shame isn't it?" she mused aloud.

"What is?" Wong snorted, glancing at her sidelong.

"That we kill these creatures for sport. I mean, look at them they're beautiful" She grumbled grumpily.

"Indeed they are" Wong nodded sombrely. And with that he turned back to watching the television, not noticing Via's worried expression as she glanced down at the text still blaring on the small screen of her phone.

It was a phone number, followed by a short sentence of text.

 _If ever you change your mind. – Mordo_

* * *

 _I don't know what the hell Tony and Stephen were talking about that day, but whatever it was it sure sobered both of them up._

 _At least until Tony told me (barely hiding his own zeal) that he'd invited me, to come to stay at the Tower for the weekend, or rather, that Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. His excuse was that the Avengers needed to improve on their abilities to work together as a team. Apparently the team wasn't that happy about him having me spy on Oscorp without consulting them. And so Tony did as he always did whenever he's put in a corner, he drags everyone down with him._

 _I was surprised that I was being included in such a thing. However, Tony just waved me off like he usually does, and said that since I was going to be working with them for a while I might as well join in the fun._

 _Truth be told I was amazed that Stephen agreed to the whole deal, but he just told me that in light of Pangborn's murder he'd have a busy weekend helping the Order in their investigations, even though he seemed rather reluctant to do so._

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be alright on your own with them?" Stephen asked as he watched his ward shoulder her overnight bag.

"I should be good. Besides I'll probably spend most, if not all of my time in the tower. What? Afraid someone's gonna snatch me from the roof and make off with me" She shrugged playfully, only to sigh as he narrowed his eyes warningly at her.

"It's not a laughing matter" he admonished her sternly folding his arms "The fact those men were willing to ram Stark's car in broad daylight is proof enough they are willing to do anything to get their hands on you-"

"Stephen. I'll be fine. And if anything does happen, I'll call you at once. I promise."

"You better. And if you do have to escape, try not to scale the building. That web of yours may help you stick to walls but god forbid if you were to fall…" Stephen shuddered, remembering all to clearly the footage he'd seen of her scaling the Hydra base's walls.

It brought goosebumps to him now just thinking what might have happened had she even missed one step-

Via put a gentle hand on his own scarred one. It wasn't much of a touch, but it seemed to ease the doctor somewhat as he clumsily patted her hand before reaching out and ruffling her hair in a playful but affectionate way.

"Hey I just brushed that!" she whined and Stephen finally smirked.

A few meters away from them both, Wong stood replacing some books onto the study's shelves. He paused in his organising to marvel at the sight before him.

It wasn't often the doctor and his ward ever let anyone see their softer moments. Usually in public they bickered, or sassed one another in jest, to the point where many often wondered how they ever managed to get along.

Occasionally Wong himself often wondered how two such beings could ever hope to not exhaust words with one another in their duel of wits.

He watched as Stephen opened a portal for Via to use that would teleport her to the balcony of Tony's floor on the Avengers Tower, as had previously been arranged.

"Alright…I guess I'll see you guys on Tuesday. Bye Wong! And you too Buddy. Oh don't give me that face" She felt her heartstrings tug slightly as the dog whined from Stephen's side, his large face mournful and eyes round.

"He'll be fine. You go now, you don't want to be late" Wong urged her with a quirked brow.

"Okay, okay I'm going! Oh by the way Wong, love the 'stache. Does this mean you and Stephen are officially facial hair bros now?" She winked cheekily as she stepped through the portal laughing loudly as Wong barked waspishly.

"Out!"

Despite himself Stephen smirked as the portal shut, eyeing Wong as he prudishly stroked the faint black fuzz above his top lip.

"Oh relax Wong she was only kidding. Though seriously what's with the uh…" he faltered as Wong sent him a very dangerous glower.

"Alright never mind" Stephen gulped, sighing heavily. Boy, he really seemed to be sighing a lot nowadays didn't he.

"Are you sure this is the right thing?" he groaned up to the ceiling. "Sending her away like this while we…"

"You said so yourself, her safety and happiness was the most important thing." Wong's frown softened as he turned back to organizing the shelf in front of him.

"Yes, but at what expense?" Stephen shook his head as he reached into his pockets and pulled out a few sheets of paper. "All this stuff-if she knew how much we were keeping from her-"

He sighed again, as he unfolded the papers and scanned their contents. It was the front page for an adoption application form signed only four months ago. One NOT written in his own hand. One written, in fact, two months before Stephen himself had sent in his own application…well before the Ancient One's death.

"I know, it troubles me too" Wong agreed as he came to stand beside him. "But if it keeps her safe from him and his actions what then -"

"He won't hurt her" Stephen said, so sharply that Wong himself almost winced "He might have killed Pangborn, and perhaps Bill Hope but he'd never hurt Olivia. If anything, he'd do anything to keep her safe."

"I know. But how far would he be willing to go? That's what worries me" Wong's jaw tensed as he looked down at the name printed neatly on the top of the form in blue ink, only to be distracted by Stephen's sudden cry of alarm.

"Hey! Where'd the dog go?"

* * *

"Well look who finally decided to show up"

"Thus speaks the old man who's notoriously late for most of his own parties" Via rolled her eyes as Jarvis opened the glass balcony doors for her.

There inside the large living space was Tony, Thor, Steve, Bruce, Natasha, Clint and a very worried Pepper, who strode up to Via fast and swooped in on her in a tight warm hug.

"Thank goodness you're alright." She sighed in relief as she let go and held her at the elbows to scan her up and down "When Tony said you were kidnapped I rushed back as soon as I could."

"You weren't in New York?" Via blinked, still slightly stunned by Peppers' surprising show of affection much to everyone else's amusement.

"She was in Germany representing the company" Tony grunted standing back as he allowed everyone else in the team to greet her, he had after all seen her just yesterday.

"You're definitely looking better" Clint smiled from where he stood.

Thor meanwhile held nothing back as he patted, or rather thudded, his hand against the girl's shoulder.

"Indeed, perhaps you might return to the training rooms before long. I have to say; friend Steve and I have sorely missed your company in the sparring ring."

"They really have" Tony muttered, shaking Steve's shoulder "Capsicle here especially felt lonesome hammering away on his own at the punching bags without a pupil to teach"

Steve rolled his eyes as he stepped forward, his gaze sympathetic as he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Welcome back kid."

"It's good to be back" she smirked.

"Uh guys?" Natasha was frowning at the glass wall behind their backs.

Via turned and promptly snorted with laughter.

There outside the window, wagging his tail frantically, tongue lolling out the side of his panting mouth, was a massive shaggy deerhound.

"Holy crap, that's one huge…" Bruce started staring dumbfoundedly at the animal.

"Beast" Clint finished. "How on Earth-"

"Buddy?! What the hell are you doing here?" Via grinned gleefully as she quickly opened the glass balcony door and let the animal in.

"Is this creature yours, lady Via?" Thor chuckled as the animal trotted into the room, its intelligent eyes roving over each person in turn.

"He must've snuck in through the portal before it shut" Via giggled, scratching the canine's tall head. "Guys, this is Buddy the Sanctum's dog. Buddy, these are the Avengers"

"That's your pet?" Steve blinked incredulously at the animal. It's head was about the girl's chest height, which was saying something as she was slightly tall for her age.

"We found him cold and shivering on the Sanctum porch with a broken leg a couple of weeks ago. We couldn't just leave him there. Could we boy? No we couldn't" she gave an affectionate peck on the dog's big wet nose.

"Kid stop you don't know where that pointer's been" Tony wrinkled his nose a little at the sight.

"I could say the same thing about you" Via smirked, pleased to see the billionaire's ears turn the brightest shade of red she'd ever seen as Clint guffawed.

"Man kid, you are on fire today" he high-fived her as Natasha reached forwards to pet the animal who lapped up the attention.

He was particularly fond of Pepper who he almost jumped up on until Tony gently pulled him down.

"Hey-hey. Back off buster, that's my girlfriend you're getting friendly with"

"Sounds like someone's jealous" Bruce smirked as he came up to the dog and let him sniff his outstretched hand "have you taught him any tricks yet?"

"Oh yeah he's pretty smart. Watch this."

Via stood back and cleared her throat.

"Buddy. Sit"

Buddy sat at once, plonking his behind on Tony's foot in the process.

"You did that on purpose" he pouted grumpily as everyone laughed at him. "Alright, since you insist. Buddy, would you mind getting your big hairy ass off-Woah!"

Tony jumped a little as the dog briefly raised his hackles up at him.

"You and your master are just peas in a pod aren't you?" the billionaire put his hands on his hips as he glowered down at the animal, who huffed before getting up off and trotting over to greet Thor, who ruffled the top of his head.

"Can he hunt?" the Thunder God asked interestedly. "He is after all a hound"

"Don't know, haven't asked him yet" Via pulled out her phone, huffing sadly "But I should tell Stephen to pick you up. You weren't supposed to come here with me after all and I don't have my sling ring to send you back-"

"Why don't you just keep him here with you?" Clint smirked "I mean, Tony said Strange was going to be busy for the weekend, and he obviously is attached at the hip to you"

"That's true. Plus it might be nice having another new face around" Steve patted the dogs back affectionately. Via was right, he might look huge but he was truly a friendly animal.

Via blushed, but they all could see the gleam of nervous excitement in her blue eyes.

"Are you sure? I mean yeah, he's house trained but-"

"Yeah sure why not?" Bruce shrugged "he seems friendly enough."

"And none of us here have any allergies to dog fur" Natasha added helpfully, giving a pointed glance towards Tony who was still looking slightly miffed.

"I suppose…" he started, glancing sidelong at Pepper who raised her eyebrows at him, before turning to face Via, whose eyes were wide and hopeful.

"Damn you and your puppy eyes" He muttered under his breath before groaning loudly "Fine, fine the beast can stay! But I'm not picking up his crap from the floor"

"Thanks old man" Via grinned.

"Don't mention it kiddo. Now come on, get upstairs to your room and get prepped, we got a lot of work to do today"

"Sure thing. Come on Buddy" Via whistled sharply and at once the dog bounded after her, yapping once with happiness as they turned a corner.

"Something tells me this is going to be a long weekend" Clint muttered as they watched the pair vanish from sight.

"but a good one, nonetheless" Thor smiled heartily. "I must say it's good to see Lady Via back in high spirits"

"lets hope it stays that way" Tony muttered under his breath.

"Hmm?" Pepper frowned at him but he waved her off.

"Nothing. Nothing. Now come on, we've got five minutes to get this team building activity set up"

"Team building? What fun" Clint drawled sarcastically, and the rest of his friends laughed.

Meanwhile in the corridor above their heads, Via steeled herself with a strong breath as she entered her assigned room.

It was still the same as she'd left it. Mostly bare, with minimum decoration, seeing as she hadn't even stayed in it that often.

But her eyes didn't see the decorations. They only saw the skyline outside the massive window.

She looked out over it, realizing she had a great view of the New York Harbour and the statue of Liberty in the distance.

She felt something warm brush by her leg and looked down to see Buddy sitting beside her, looking up worriedly at her.

"I'm okay bud" she scratched his ear with a small frown as she turned back to look down at the buildings and streets below.

Barely less than a year ago she'd been down there on those streets, begging, stealing and fighting to escape the doom that had been set before her. And now she was standing up here, in one of the tallest buildings in the world, looking down upon the world which lay open to her.

She would've felt proud of herself, but deep down she knew that it was only thanks to a bit of luck that she'd ever made it that far.

 _Not a bit of luck. But a lot of it! More than those other kids ever had._

She sucked in a deep breath, a warm beam of sunlight washing over her as she looked back up at the tops of the gleaming city.

The dog stared up at her for a moment, so intently that Via almost thought he was searching her face. It was bizarre, she mused, how such a canine face could somehow appear so human.

"You okay kid?"

A voice spoke, and Via turned around to see Steve standing in the doorway.

Via opened her mouth, ready to give him sass, and tease him mercilessly about the whole "kid" thing, but the sincerity in his blue gaze simply stopped her dead in his tracks. He really did look genuinely worried about her.

"Yeah…yeah I'm okay. Thanks"

"No, you aren't." The Super Soldier said quietly as he stepped up to stand beside her "But you will be"

Via nodded, her smile vanishing as she turned to look back out the window.

"I'm going to find those missing kids" she said softly, her eyes a blaze with bright light. "I'm going to find them, and I'm going to take Hydra down. But this time, I'm gonna do it right"

"I know you will. But you won't do it alone. Whether you like it or not, you're a part of this team, and Team's stick together no matter what." Steve smirked as she quirked an eyebrow up at him.

"Even if a teammate runs away in the middle of the night to infiltrate a dangerous Hydra base on her own, despite being rescued from it just a few hours ago."

"Are you kidding, that's the best time to have a team around." Steve ruffled her curls. "And speaking of which, we should head back down. Tony's got some _team building_ exercises he wants to try out."

"And you want to drag me down with the rest of you?" Via and was pleased when the super soldier chuckled.

"Something like that yes. Now let's get moving" he steered her back to her room door.

"Well I suppose we shouldn't keep him waiting. After all a captain always should go down with the rest of his ship"

"Wow, Clint was right, you really are on a roll today."

"Gramps you have no idea"

* * *

 _And that was how my first weekend of Teambuilding with the Avengers Started. Yes I said the first weekend, as in it was the first of many hilarious times spent trying to figure out how to escape Tony's ridiculous teambuilding exercise schedule._

 _Seriously when the guy sets his mind to doing something he'll give it his all into dragging all of us down with him._

 _I complain about it now, but truth be told, I'm actually quite fond of those weekends, which have served to be some of my brightest memories in darkest of times._

 _Even if they could be ridiculously hectic._

* * *

The blonde woman in the black veil scowled as she hung up on her call.

NO.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

How could this have happened?

She looked down at the photographs sent to her over private messaging and scowled vehemently.

While she was pleased that the drone had managed to snap a shot without being spotted by one of Tony Stark's machines, she was infuriated by what had been captured in its video camera.

It was a girl walking on a balcony, followed by a massive black dog.

A dog she was sure she had dumped to die bruised in an alley way.

"You pesky little beast" she snarled, her silvery eyes glowing red from under the veil, along with her finger tips. "How on earth did you find her so quickly?"

She zoomed in on the video, focusing on the girl's happy laugh as she let the animal inside the tower after her.

 _She looks so much like her._

The woman's fingers now glowed red as well, red with a hint of black, that snaked its way down her fingers until it took the form of a tiny serpent made from shadow.

"So…You think you can outsmart me. We'll just see about that"

She dialled a number on the phone, her sneer widening as it was picked up on the other end.

" _Hello, Craven speaking"_

"My darling Cornelius" the woman hissed "We need to talk…"

* * *

 **And that is where i leave you.**

 **Mordo is heading down a darker path while Via starts to come to terms with the reality of her situation, while the Craven Brother's unknown benefactor continues her plotting. it all looks pretty dark now doesn't it? but don't worry, the next few chapters should be a lot lighter as Via gets opportunities for team bonding with the rest of the Avengers. I already have a couple of ideas for how i want it to go but if you have any ideas for any team bonding moments just post it in the review and i'll see what i can do.**

 **Hope you enjoyed and keep reading and reviewing for more**

 **Cheers,**

 **FuzzyBeta**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: It's Not Easy Being Green**

 _My first day of Team Building with the Avengers was…well…shall we say…eventful._

 _I called Stephen and told him about our dog Buddy following me through the portal. He was fine with him staying with me at the tower, given that he and Wong were going to be too busy to properly look after him. However, I could tell he was a little disappointed. Stephen may act aloof and above it all sometimes, but he really is an animal lover at heart, and he really enjoyed having Buddy around._

 _So once that was sorted and after a bit of socializing and chilling out for most of the morning, Tony decided that the first and most important thing we all needed was…_

 _drumroll please…_

* * *

"Trust exercises?" Natasha rolled her eyes. "What are we five?"

"No, but there are – wait a moment – one two-seven of us on the team, plus Sam who's in the bathroom. So that makes eight of us. Eight, great we can do stuff in pairs." Tony clapped his hands with a smirk.

Steve just rolled his eyes. The Man of Iron looked less like a fully-grown billionaire genius and more like an excitable child on a trip to the beach. He certainly had the gleaming eyes of a child right now-

His thoughts were interrupted by Thor who stood beside him with a confused frown.

"And pray tell what activities you have planned to improve our trust?"

"Well let's see here" Tony pulled up his datapad and flicked through an activities list.

"Oh, here's one that's fun. It's called minefield. Rules seem simple. We split into pairs, and one person has to direct their blindfolded partner around a crowded floor without them bumping into stuff"

"Good Lord this will be messy" Via grumbled but was ignored as pairs were assigned at random.

Steve and Bruce ended up working with one another, as did Natasha and Thor. Tony was with Sam, much to both their chagrin, and Via found herself standing side by side with Clint and smirking at the new pairs that were staring awkwardly at one another.

"I take it back. This is going to be interesting" she smirked as Clint snorted with quiet chuckles beside her.

A few minutes later half of them all had blindfolds on and were being led to different corners of the large common room area.

"You sure you wanna go first?" Via frowned as she gently pushed the archer in front of one of the armchairs.

"I'll be fine. It's those idiots I'm more worried about" Clint assured her as he flattened the blindfold over his eyes.

On the other sides of the room Thor, Steve and Sam were having their blindfold's secured by their partners.

Once they were all set Tony called out to all of them.

"Alright now I'm going to start the time. This group has ten minutes to direct their partner around the room WITHOUT letting them bump into anything, or anyone. You guys got that?"

"Got it!" they all shouted.

"Alright then, Jarvis start the clock!"

* * *

The blonde woman in the veil smirked to herself as she drew back the long sheet from on high.

It had taken her a long time to find this artefact, but it was worth it.

 _I just have to wait till the right moment…_

Her lips curled.

Thanks to those Avengers, getting to the girl had been even trickier than before.

There was only so much she could do to upset her little apple cart from a distance.

The woman looked down at her hands. Skin that had once been luminescent and blemish free were already starting to look ever so slightly worn and wrinkled with age.

 _Just one spell…_

She scowled waspishly as with a wave of her hand the skin tightened and smoothed back to the way it was.

 _I'm running out of time…_

There was a strange thumping behind her and the woman in the veil turned around to face the source of the noise.

It was coming from a box. A strange small black box, that was rattling and shaking of its own accord. From inside it, amidst the thudding of its corners, were what could only be described as muffled shrieks of absolute terror.

The corners of the woman's red lips curled upwards in a sneer.

"I suppose you'll have to make do"

* * *

 _The first day of "team building" passed by smoothly (Despite Clint and Tony's attempts to have fun by sabotaging some of the more "boring" exercises")_

 _The one thing that struck me most of all was just how dorky all these world-saving heroes were._

 _That's right. You heard me. Dorky._

 _Not that it's bad._

 _In fact, it was kinda a relief. Back when I first started working with the Avengers they always seemed so cool and above everything, which is true in some cases. But it never ceases to amaze me, to this day, just how out of place all of them would've been in the world if they didn't have one another._

 _Just like how I would've been out of place if I didn't have them._

 _Which brings me to the events of that first Team building night..._

* * *

She wasn't sure what had happened.

One second she was standing in the shower, scrubbing off the sweat from her body. The next second she had slipped thudding heavily against the wall, panting as what felt like a wave of something cold swept through her.

 _Must be catching a chill._

She shuddered as she straightened up, her fingers trembling violently as she made to turn off the water.

 _Yeah, just a chill_.

She told herself as she dried off, sighing as she wrapped herself snugly in her large fluffy white towel and stepped out into her room.

She smiled to herself as she caught sight of the golden sun, starting to dip below the horizon line of New York, staining the buildings gold in her line of sight.

Yes, her room at the Avengers Tower was impressive indeed.

And yet…

 _I'm overthinking things._

She shook her head, patting Buddy as he perked his head up from where he lay upon the end of her bed.

"I wish I could be as carefree as you" she leaned down to kiss the canine's dark wet nose. "Must be nice to be a dog. Just eating, sleeping and running around playing all day. No worries to bother you except for when you get your next treat. Ha!"

She laughed as he licked her face affectionately.

"I love you too."

She had just about finished tying the drawstring of her pants tight around her waist when her phone began buzzing.

"probably just Stephen" she murmured, doing her best to push down the shiver of fear that ran through her as she checked the number.

It wasn't Stephen.

It wasn't even Wong's number.

She stared at the screen.

Should she answer?

But before her head could even think, her fingers had already accepted the call and she had put the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

But all she got was silence.

Silence except for the faintest crackles of white noise.

"Hello!" she tried again, torn between annoyance and the quickening of her heart "Whoever you are I can hear you breathing"

There was a hiss, as a breath was taken sharply, then a beep…

Then silence.

She pulled the phone away from her ear and looked down at it just in time to see the call end screen flicker off, only to be quickly replaced by the home screen.

"Weird" she whispered as she quickly flicked to her call history.

The number that showed looked very familiar, but for the life of her she couldn't remember where…

"Aura. Check for this number in my phone" she said and was pleased when Aura beeped a few seconds later.

"Check complete. You have had three correspondences in total with this phone number. Two calls and one message. All three have occurred within the last twenty-four hours"

 _The last twenty-four hours? But I haven't had much happen except…_

"Mordo" Via bit her lip anxiously looking down at the number. "but no that couldn't be him."

 _Could it? I mean every time I've talked to him he's been acting strange…no…this didn't feel like him on the other end._

"So who could it be?"

Who indeed…

There was a knock at her door.

"Hey Vee!" She heard Natasha call through the wood, "Dinner's ready in the dining room."

"I'll be down in a sec, just getting dressed." Via smirked as she pulled a black shirt with the over her bra

"Before you come down could you fetch Tony from the Workshop. He wants to talk to you"

"Okay will do" she called back, only to shiver as a cold gust of breeze hit the back of her neck.

"Oh for gods sake" she muttered darkly as she looked around the room. It was then she noticed that one of her windows above her desk was still open a crack.

"No wonder it's chilly." She rolled her eyes to herself as she strode over and shut the window, not noticing the small black shape that detached itself from her shadow on the floor and slunk out from under the crack in her door.

* * *

There was the hard bang of wood against wall as a young man with olive skin and dark shaggy hair promptly slammed the door open to the study.

It was a small room, but tidy, neat and clean. Except for the desk on which several books lay open on various pages.

"Cassian? What's wrong?" the dark-skinned reader blinked in surprise from where he sat.

His brow furrowed concernedly as the younger man stormed over and slammed his small touch phone onto an empty space in front of him.

"Care to explain _this_ Master Mordo!" Cassian snarled as he pulled up a phone number for his master to see under the name _Olivia_.

Mordo's eyes hardened as he picked up the phone and glared hard at the number. When he looked next up at Cassian, his eyes were ablaze with wrath.

"Where did you get this?" he rumbled, but Cassian was not deterred.

"You left it in the training room. I was going to return it…until I saw _this_ …" he trailed off, unable to finish the sentence as a snarl crept up his face.

"Who I choose to contact on my personal device is my business Cassian" Mordo clipped coolly at his apprentice.

"You said you had severed all ties to the Order! That you wanted nothing more to do with them."

"And I still don't. This is just part of the plan."

"What plan? The plan to keep talking with your _favourite little pupil_ behind my back. The same person who you know murdered my father? The same girl who-"

"The same girl who's currently living under the same roof as the next Sorcerer Supreme in training?" Mordo finished with raised eyebrows.

Cassian stared at him.

"You're using her to spy on Strange" he murmured in disbelief, his shock overtaking all his anger in a split second.

"Yes. I am" Mordo leaned back, relaxing as he saw his protégé sink into a chair his eyes wells of relief.

"When did it start?" he asked quietly.

"Only last night." Mordo folded his hands "I would've established contact sooner, however the whole Hydra incident forced me to bide my time. I was going to tell you-"

"Yeah right" Cassian scoffed under his breath but his master steamrolled over him.

"-I was going to tell you once I had gained her trust again. But given your heated emotions towards her I decided to hold back until you'd come to terms with your grief."

Cassian looked down to his hands, lip curling in anger despite his attempts to keep his temper in check as Mordo continued his speech.

"I will not lie to you. I am fond of Olivia. She's a strong, intelligent, kind and altogether a good person"

"She killed my father" Cassian spat. "She killed him in cold blood. What about that makes her a decent person?"

Mordo sighed.

"Cassian you knew your father. You knew what he had become and what he was willing to do to get his revenge. And whilst I too don't agree with Olivia killing him so brutally, I do understand that what she did, she did in self-defence and for that, I cannot fault her. For I myself have done the same, perhaps worse, under such conditions. Also, you know what the Order and the Ancient One were like. They target people who are broken and lost, like Olivia and Strange, and then they warp their minds with ideologies with their teachings."

"I-I-" Cassian's mouth opened and shut repeatedly, though try as hard as he might he just couldn't get the insults he wanted to roar out of his mouth. But they wouldn't. After all his master was right, his father had been a monster, and Via had lashed out in self-defence. But still…did she have to kill?

"I thought she was better than him." Cassian hissed through grit teeth. "She always was so self-righteous about morals and killing. And yet when she killed him what happened? She was called a hero, she walks free and now she's a member of a team of heroes who also have killed and-"

He paused, sucking in a sharp breath.

"And here I am, skulking in this castle like a frigging-ghost while the rest of the people I thought were my family hunt me down like a criminal"

"I admit it's not been easy these past few months." Mordo nodded comfortingly "But I still need you to lie low for just a little longer until we have confirmation from our allies on our diplomatic immunity."

"You mean that Doom guy from Latveria is still giving you trouble?" Cassian's eyes narrowed.

"We just need to smooth over a few more details but our agreement, but it shouldn't take too long" Mordo schooled his face back into one of stern firmness as he glanced at his phone in front of him on the desk "But that is not my main concern right now. I will let you off the hook this one time, however should you ever dare go through my personal effects or disrupt one of my operations there will be dire consequences. Are we clear."

"Yes master" Cassian mumbled softly, face back down to his knees.

"Good. Now, have a shower and rest. We have an important errand to run tomorrow and you'll need all your strength" Mordo's gaze softened as the young boy before him nodded quietly and strode out the room.

Once the door was shut, the master sorcerer sighed again, this time allowing himself to sag in his chair.

 _That was close…too close…_

He looked down to his phone, and then to the door and then to a drawer on his desk.

Quietly he opened it, sliding out a yellow manila file in which a very official black and white document blared up in his eyes as he opened it.

 _HYDRA PERSONNEL PROFILE – Elias Theodore Summers_

* * *

 _Knock, knock._

"Hey old man?" Via mumbled as she poked her head into the billionaire's lab.

Tony was sitting on a tall stool beside one of the high work benches, bent over something as he worked with his uninjured hand. He didn't look out of sorts to Via, but then again, he didn't usually like to show it if he was. In that way, he was a surprisingly private person.

"Tony?" Via tried again, her voice slightly gentler.

This time Tony looked up eyebrows raised in surprise. "Using my name Mission Impossible? Now I know something's wrong"

"Yeah well, Nat said you were acting weird and I didn't want to push any buttons" Via relaxed as she strode over to the table. "So what are you working on?"

"the blueprints for a new Nano-molecular regenerative cradle which will graft a simulacrum of organic tissue to a wounded patient and bond it to them on the cellular level" Tony leaned back and handed her a tablet.

"So…it's a pod that patches up people?" Via quirked a brow.

"Well if you want to put it so crudely then yes it does" Tony rolled his eyes, though the effect was ruined by a small amused smirk on his face. "But I'll tell you more about that later. Here."

He reached out and handed her a nearby datapad.

"Repaired and good as new."

"Huh?" Via blinked as she took the device "Oh right my datapad. I didn't even know it was broken"

"Yeah we all took quite a beating during the crash" Tony muttered with a slight grimace. "Speaking of which how are you holding up? You look a little tense."

"I'm not tense" Via pouted folding her arms. "It's just…I don't know."

She looked away from him and over the rest of the room with a sigh. First that strange chill she felt in the bathroom and then that weird phone call from Mordo's number…

"Maybe it's just me…" She mumbled softly "I mean I'm paranoid on a normal basis about a lot of stuff. I just can't shake off the feeling that something's off and it's frustrating because I don't know what's off and when I don't know what's off I get even more paranoid and it just goes on and on in this annoying loop. I thought that I'd be safe after I moved into the New York Sanctum. I thought everything would stop. But now…Argh! Why can't I just be a normal kid for once?"

Tony watched her, unusually quiet and sympathetic as she pinched the bridge of her nose in aggravation.

"Tch! Normal? Normal is boring." he snorted softly as with gentle fingers he prized her datapad from her hand and swiped and pressed the touch screen to open up a folder, which seemed to be filled with several video files.

"Here. Take a look at this"

"Oh god, it's not another AC/DC music video is it?" Via rolled her eyes. She liked rock just as much as the next teenager, but there was only so many times she could listen to the millionaire's rather repetitive workshop playlist.

"Okay. First, how dare you mock my amazing taste in music? And secondly no it's not AC/DC, though it is something I know you'll be very interested in" Tony playfully scowled, as he pressed the third video file and smirked as Via turned to narrow her eyes warily at him…only for her to stop dead in her tracks.

On the screen she could see a woman. A woman with blonde curls and a face just like hers, except with grey eyes, smirking up at them.

She was wearing purple shirt under a black leather jacket, that complimented her dark blue jeans. On her ears she wore a pair of small gold hoop earrings that matched her simple gold chain around her neck. Over her wrists two golden dragons were wrapped, their red jewelled eyes glinting faintly in the artificial light above her head as she leaned into the camera.

 _"Is this thing on?"_ she frowned as she reached out to adjust the camera angle.

Via felt her heart leap into her throat at the sound of the voice. She had a distinctly posh Queens English accent, but the timbre behind it was like her own. She gulped as she continued to listen to the woman as she cleared her throat and began speaking into the camera.

" _SHIELD PERSONELL REPORT. Agent's name: Freyja Ingrid Sorenson, Codename – Themis. Date: thirteenth March 1995. Time: Fourteen-hundred hours. I have been assigned to a new undercover operation by SHIELD, to track down the Mirror of Second Sight, a powerful artefact that can be used to see into the hearts and minds of anybody on the planet. As the name suggests it-"_

There was a sharp intake of breath and Tony looked up, his eyes widening in surprise as he caught sight of Via clapping a hand over her mouth. Tears streamed down her face, as she glanced over at the inventor beside her.

"I'm okay…" she smiled as she tried to dab at her streaming face. "It's…It's just…this is the first time I've ever heard her voice."

Then without warning, she promptly threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tight around his shoulders as she all but squeezed the life out of him.

He was about to open his mouth when she mumbled softly.

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it kid." Tony mumbled, feeling somewhat awkward as he reached out to gingerly pat her on the shoulder. Through the corner of his eye, he could see Bruce Banner's face peeking through the glass wall of his lab.

He was looking relieved. Well, no surprise there. He had been worrying that Tony's idea of a surprise for the young teen might be too sensitive a topic to touch on. He had also been worried that Tony might botch the whole surprise with his sarcastic humour. Great charismatic billionaire though he was, he could be surprisingly awkward when it came to expressing his heartfelt sincerity.

 _Then again so is Via._

Bruce smiled warmly, not noticing his shadow flicker oddly on the ground, as he watched his friend and the young teenager gawkily pull away from one another, the latter coughing as she finally managed to wipe off the last of her tears.

"So…uh…wh-where did you find these?"

"I've been going through some of the files from that Hydra base you were imprisoned at" Tony cleared his throat loudly, relieved as he saw Bruce slip away from the glass wall opposite.

"Damage Control managed to salvage this off one of the main hard drives at that Alphard's desk. But we didn't find much else. It seems that just before we came Hydra used some kind of virus to wipe out the data from their own systems at the base"

"You mean like as a failsafe? But they must have copies-" Via frowned and Tony nodded.

"Yeah, at other bases. And before you ask, yes I did try to find them. Hence why I have the demolished carcasses of three PCs on my desk"

"May they rest in pieces" Via snorted as she caught sight of the mess of computer parts that littered the workbench on Tony's other side.

He grinned as he heard her stomach warble loudly.

"Sorry." She blushed looking down at her shifting toes as the goateed inventor patted her firmly on the shoulder as he stood to his feet.

"Come on kid. Let's go get some food"

* * *

 _Dinner was a lot of fun that night._

 _The most fun I'd had in weeks in fact. For once I wasn't looking over my shoulder or feeling sad or scared. It didn't hurt that I had more of my mom's SHIELD report videos to watch later before I went to bed._

 _It was so surreal seeing her on the screen like that. Up till that point I'd only ever seen her in photographs. But to hear her voice…to see her move and talk and-it was beyond anything I could've imagined. We were so different and yet so similar. She moved her hands just like how I do when I get excited, and even chewed her cheek like I do when I'm thinking._

 _There were some things that weren't similar of course. The accent for one thing, real posh and polished like a true high society woman. She and I look different when we smile or scowl. Her eyes too, grey and a different shape, though I kinda expected that (Stephen did say that grey eyes are quite a rare recessive gene). Then there was the way she sat. Ladylike and precise, no hint of a slouch even though she was in jeans and a tank top._

 _Not like me at the dinner table, for back then I still didn't have the best of table manners. Yet it wasn't too bad._

 _What had started as a formal awkward serving of dishes quickly turned into a barrel of laughs as amusing and embarrassing stories hacked away at whatever ice that had been there. Buddy sat at my side, occasionally begging for scraps (and ultimately getting them from the weak willed Steve and Pepper who snuck him some treats under the table)_

 _My personal favourite story was Thor's recount of his having to cross-dress as a goddess and almost marry a giant in order to steal back his magic hammer Mjolnir. Seriously the thought of the big guy shaving his beard and putting on a dress and veil is-well …_

 _*snorts and giggles*_

 _Sorry. I just can't help it. If you saw Thor you'd know what I'm talking about. The guy almost breaks through his clothes with all his muscles. How anyone on Asgard, let alone Earth found a dress to fit him is a miracle in its own right._

 _But enough about Asgardian gods cross-dressing and back to…wait…where was I again?_

 _Oh yeah dinner. So yeah, we all had dinner and then stayed up late watching Star Wars IV: A New Hope in the screening room. It was my first time EVER seeing anything Star Wars). You should've seen Tony and Clint's faces when I said I had never even seen the movie. They looked at me as if they were two priests faced with a horrible heathen that was in desperate need of conversion. I had to admit, I kinda enjoyed it. I mean sure the acting was mostly hammed up, and the effects were old but overall it was fun._

 _…For most of us._

 _Bruce was looking out of sorts. He had seemed perfectly fine when we did the teambuilding exercises earlier. At first, I just thought that he was feeling a little down or low on energy. After all some people just have days like that._

 _Unfortunately for me, the problem wasn't that simple…_

* * *

Via turned over in her bed glaring at the wall vehemently. Her evening had gone so well. She'd seen a video of her mom, she'd eaten a wonderful dinner and watched a movie with friends.

And yet for some inexplicable reason, she just could not shut her eyes and go to sleep.

 _Oh my god, It's nearly two._

She groaned loudly and sat up, jostling Buddy at the end of her bed as she did so.

"Sorry Bud." She whispered reaching out to soothe the animal as he raised his head to look at her worriedly. "Just can't get to sleep"

He gave her a small consoling lick as she scratched his ear, his eyes piercing hers, almost seeming to search her soul as she stared back into them in the dim light

"It's amazing y'know" Via murmured softly as she stroked her thumb on the crown of his head. "Sometimes, I swear, you almost look human to me. But that's just my wishful thinking isn't it."

Buddy huffed and whined softly as he licked her wrist again.

"There you go again. Are you trying to talk to me?" Via smiled, but her face fell as the dog gave her a very soft boof of a bark, his large head nodding at her before sharply turning towards her door.

"What's up? Hey!" she winced as suddenly he bounded off her bed and leapt towards the door, sniffing eagerly at it.

"Buddy, come on, back in the bed."

But Buddy just kept sniffing and nosing at the door, his ears pricked upwards as he looked up to the ceiling.

"It's probably someone moving around upstairs, now come on get back to bed" Via hissed only to groan as Buddy looked in her direction and gave her a soft bark.

"No-don't bark. Buddy!" she hissed leaping out of bed and grabbing at his collar as he began scratching at the door, whining loudly.

"Buddy, stop you'll wake someone up with all the…noise…" Via paused as she felt something hot against her chest.

She looked down under her night shirt.

The Web of Asibikaashi was glowing bright, so bright that it could be seen through her clothes. She pulled it out, wincing as it illuminated her room with a strange gold-amber light.

Wait amber?

 _No that can't be right_

Via frowned. The web of Asibikaashi never glowed amber, it glowed just plain gold. And what was this tingling she could feel in her body. It almost felt like she had hundreds of tiny spiders crawling over her skin.

"Something's wrong"

She looked at Buddy, who looked at her briefly before looking back to the door and huffing at it.

"You can sense it too can't you?"

He grunted, nodding his snout again at the door.

Via rolled her eyes and grabbed Aura from her bedside table.

"Alright, I guess we're having a night time walk then. But be quiet" she hissed as she gingerly reached for the door and quietly prized it open.

The corridor was dark outside her room, her phone casting the only light as she switched its flashlight on and tiptoed her way down, Buddy skulking silently in front of her with his head bowed low to sniff at the ground.

They had just reached the lobby outside the express lift when they heard it.

A series of solid thudding sounds…coming from the direction of Tony's lab.

 _Old Man must be pulling an all-nighter even though Pepper told him not to._

She sighed.

But then she looked back down at the Web of Asibikaashi. It was still glowing hotly on her chest, only now the colour was getting closer to red than yellow.

No…something was very wrong…and it was obviously getting worse.

She looked at the direction of the lab, then back to the web.

 _Maybe I should call someone…but first I should get a look at what's going on…yeah…then I can sneak back and tell them what's happening so we can solve it._

"Sorry Bud, but I'll need you to sit tight. I'll be right back" Via whispered, her hands moving silently in the air as she cast a magical dome around the animal, who barked at her angrily as she leapt up to the ceiling and began crawling towards the lab.

She was silent as she approached the glass wall doing her best to stick to the shadows as she chanced a look inside.

What she saw made her stomach turn over.

Everything in the place was absolutely completely smashed. The benches the chairs, even a couple of robotic arms lay half decimated and sparking on the floor, wires frayed and metal twisted out of shape.

And in the centre of this mayhem, someone stood.

He was hunched over, wearing a purple shirt that was ripped along the spine. His skin was pale and tinged a vivid shade of green, that only intensified as his body twitched, the muscles slowly expanding and straining against the confines of his clothes as he grew taller and larger.

But worst of all was the face.

It was a face she knew well. A face she'd so often seen as kindly, if somewhat sad sometimes. A face that offered her comfort and wisdom. And yet it wasn't that face at all. It was green, wrathful and ferocious. She could see the vein throbbing painfully in one of it's temples, vivid green eyes almost glowing as it met her gaze.

"Bruce?"

He stumbled backward his body now fully illuminated in the one remaining ceiling light that hadn't been destroyed, and she saw there on his green chest over his heart something like a black slimy scorpion-like creature had latched on leech-like into his skin.

She could feel the web of Asibikaashi almost burn her skin now as she looked at the strange horrible creature, which had sunk what appeared to be two more black pincers into the Hulk's shoulder.

He roared in pain, his body twisting and contorting as a horrible sucking, rasping sound filled the air.

"BRUCE!" Via cried out, throwing all caution to the wind as she wrenched open the door to the lab.

But no sooner had she stepped in the room, did she have to dodge to the side of a mangled chair that had been thrown her way.

"No Bruce!" the large green man-like being roared, snarling at her as she leapt up onto the wall.

"No Bruce, ONLY HUUULK!"

* * *

 **FINALLY! Got this chapter out. Sorry for the long wait. I went on holidays and then was swamped by work when i got back home. So yeah, even though it's shorter than normal, this chapter has a fair bit packed in. Via has finally gotten to see something more of her mother, she's also met Hulk (though not under good circumstances),, Mordo is hiding something from a vengeful Cassian and our mysterious new villain is pulling a few more strings behind the scenes.**

 **I figured I'd put in a bit of Tony/Via fluff to ease the rather intense mood (but then i couldn't resist in the end :P). Don't worry, there will be some lighter chapters soon. Actually i am in the middle of writing a separate much lighter and funnier fluffy piece in the Dream-Catcher MCU verse with Via and the Avengers and other MCU characters. It probably won't have a strict place in the timeline, but it's just for fluffy happy ramblings. hopefully i have time to post it up soon :)**

 **There will be more Via/Strange in the next chapter as well as Via interacting more with the other Avengers as they try to sort this situation out.** **Anyways i hope you enjoyed and please review for more.**

 **Cheers**

 **FuzzyBeta**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Itsy Bitsy Spider Sorceress**

 _The night I first met the Hulk was…was…well…not quite as cool as I'd hoped._

 _You see when the Hulk gets pissed he really loses himself into his anger, like seriously he does not hold back on anyone or anything. He just smashes and rips apart like it's nobody's business. And it did not help that time that he had that nightmare demon latched onto his chest, pumping him full of fear._

 _Looking back on the whole incident, it probably wasn't the best idea to trap myself in the room with him, even if that was accidental._

* * *

"No Bruce, ONLY HUUULK!"

"Holy shit" Via gulped from her spot on the wall, wincing as she heard the crunch of metal bending shape as the metal chair hitting somewhere close by.

But she had very little time to look at the spectacle as she saw another chair being flung at her direction.

With a cry she leapt up onto the high ceiling, thanking her lucky stars that she barely missed the large green fist that had grabbed her mid jump.

"Bruce! Bruce! It's me, Via. Remember? I'M YOUR FRIEND!" she called out only to squeak as he tried jumping up to snatch at her from the ceiling.

"NO BRUCE"

The whole room thudded and shook as the Hulk landed with a heavy thud onto the ground. One of the glass windows to the room cracked ominously as he leapt up to snatch at her and landed heavily again on the floor.

"Need to get out of here, need to get out" she muttered as she crawled over the ceiling, doing her best to steer closer to the exit.

However that plan was dashed as mass of green muscles and flesh suddenly blocked her path to the door.

"crap! JARVIS GET HELP!" she screamed as the hulk leapt up again, this time almost succeeding in grabbing at her ankle. But Via was quick to leap down into a roll on the ground where she hid behind an overturned desk.

"Shit-shit-shit-shit!"

She could hear the frantic scrambling from outside the room, accompanied by loud yells and frantic barks of Buddy.

"WE GOT A CODE GREEN! CODE GREEN!" she could vaguely hear Natasha's voice amidst the cacophony of shouts as Hulk's roars entered the mix.

Her ears ringing Via crawled quickly away from her hiding spot and behind another overturned desk before the Hulk could rip that to shreds.

Through the glass she could see Steve standing looking horrified as he caught sight of her through the glass, his shield held at the ready. At any other time, Via might have laughed at the sight of him with mussed up hair, a five o'clock, wearing a T-shirt and Pyjama pants ready for action but now all she could think of was:

"Thank god! CAP!" she shrieked the last word as a large green hand ripped the desk from behind her and threw it aside like it was a piece of paper.

Via gulped, shivering uncontrollably as felt the large mass of green panting and grunting heavily behind her back as the large shadow loomed over her.

Slowly she turned around.

The Hulk was glaring down at her, fists clenched, face contorted with rage, which only seemed to grow as the strange black leach like creature over his chest throbbed sickeningly.

"He-he…Hi…" Via feebly tried to smile, her body shaking so violently that she was sure she was making the whole floor vibrate under her as she practically willed herself not to piss her pants.

The Hulk glared down at her, lip curling as he stomped closer, nearly crushing her leg as she scuttled away like a backwards crab from him.

Somewhere behind the Hulk's back, she could hear the lab door opening and a voice whispering quietly.

"Okay on the count of three"

It was Tony's voice, and though he tried to hide it, Via could hear the smallest waver of uncertainty in his voice.

Hulk however did not seem to hear him, he just kept advancing on Via with the same snarl.

Despite her fear, Via could not help but wonder at this. She'd heard from the others that when the Hulk went crazy he'd go after anyone or anything, and that he'd keener senses than most. And yet there was something about the way he was looking at her-

 _Wait that's not anger_ … _that's…_

She breathed as she looked into those bright green irises, down to the strange black creature on his chest, and down to her still red glowing dreamcatcher on her neck.

"WAIT!" she called out, but too late. There was a large flash of light, and a crackle of energy as a bolt of lightening struck through the air.

It hit Hulk full on in the back, sending him flying straight into the glass wall, which shattered upon impact.

"What are you doing?" Via cried out as she felt a hand (which she recognized to be Clint's) drag her up to her feet.

"Getting you out of here. Now come on."

"No-wait! You don't understand-"

"KID!" she heard someone yelling as she wrenched her arm away from Clint's strong grip and dashed towards the Hulk's gigantic form that was laying on the ground.

He seemed motionless, but even as she knelt beside him she could see the rise and fall of his chest and the twitches in his face as he struggled between dreams and the living world. This wasn't anger, this was fear. The poor guy was experiencing his own worst nightmare.

The Web of Asibikaashi burned hotter than ever as she reached out to touch the throbbing black mass that was still embedded into his skin.

The sound of its sucking tentacle like gooey appendages almost made her want to wet herself again. Such a horrible sound…

 _No! Concentrate Via, concentrate! We got to get this thing off Bruce before it's too late._

She took in a deep breath, twirling her hands in front of the dreamcatcher on her chest, which now began to glow bright gold as she drew upon its energy. It was so bright, that it seemed to illuminate the room like a second sun even as she lowered her glowing hands down onto the creature of darkness and shadow.

A scream rent the air around her. A scream so blood curdling and spine chilling that nearly everyone else in the room stood still in shock and terror as it grew louder and louder in agony.

But Via did not let go. She just pressed down harder on the black mass beneath her, on which golden webs had begun spreading over the top of.

They spread and spread, until they hit the tendrils of black that were piercing into the Hulk's skin.

He cried out in surprise, eyes popping open wide and shocked, but Via still pressed on, not letting go even as she felt the green eyes turn on her and several voices yell indiscernibly behind her back.

"Come on Bruce…come on…fight it." she hissed ignoring the large hands that reached out to grab her shoulders, only for them to let go as the Hulk roared at them.

But for all his pain he did not lash out at Via, for when they made eye contact again, she could see the fear in them even as bits of the creature began to break apart like fragile charcoal.

She could hear the noise behind her begin to quiet down as she worked her magic through the dark creature. With each push of energy, she gave it, it's screams slowly but surely started to die down to gurgling pained splutters until finally, the last of its body crumbled away into ash.

There was silence as Via stared down at her hands. They were now resting upon one of the Hulk's massive green pectorals and shaking violently.

 _Finally…holy shit that was intense …_

She sucked in a deep breath to soothe herself only to wince as a terrible smell hit her nose. It was almost like someone had burnt rotten eggs and hair together in a fire. She looked down at her hands. They were very red but not burnt too badly. At worst she'd have to just keep her hands in a bucket of ice cold water for a while.

"Shit" she breathed as she saw the corners of her vision beginning to turn black, unaware of the large green hand resting gently over her back or the loud yell:

"KID!"

* * *

Stephen Strange stared at his cellphone for a good full minute, eyes burning with quiet rage.

"You're quite sure?" he spoke into the loudspeaker, his eyes shutting as the voice of Peter Percival on the other end said:

"Yes…we're sure… Billy Hope was definitely murdered by Master Mordo."

Stephen's face fell into his scarred hand.

This was terrible. It was beyond anything he could have imagined, and he could imagine quite a lot.

"I'm sorry Doctor Strange. I know it's a lot to take in given everything that's happened." Percival sighed on his end sounding about as shaken as he felt "Truth be told I still have trouble believing it's true-"

"That makes two of us" Stephen muttered darkly. "But why? Why would he do something like this? What could he possibly gain from killing Pangborn or Hope? It doesn't make any sense"

"I don't know." Percival grunted tiredly "Or at least, I don't know why he'd kill Pangborn. He might've left the Order, but he wasn't a threat of any kind. As for Billy Hope there's only one reason that could possibly make sense-"

"Olivia" Stephen cut across him. "He must've heard about the arrest and decided to take matters into his own hands"

"To be fair though, had someone like that abused my daughter I'd probably feel just as angry" Percival admitted bitterly.

"Olivia wasn't his daughter" Stephen clipped, his jaw tensing. "He might have been ready to apply for her adoption, but it still doesn't change the fact that he still left her out in the cold"

Percival sighed again on the other end.

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean he still doesn't care for her. Truth be told I'm surprised he hasn't tried to reach out to her yet. Try to sway her to join him in exile. If he really wanted to turn against us wouldn't he want to gain other followers to turn the tides."

"Not unless he wants to wait in the shadows" Stephen rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

He'd only known Mordo for a brief amount of time, but from what he had seen, the man was more of a lone wolf. Even when living with others at Kamar-Taj he had been distant save to those few he was fond of…

Stephen's face darkened as a thought flashed over his mind's eye.

It was of Via that morning, her face looking disturbed by something as she looked down at her phone. She had quickly turned it off as soon as she had made eye contact with him, doing her best to smile it off before she left through the sling ring portal.

"Doctor Strange?" Percival's voice wafted into his ears.

"Sorry Percival, but I'll have to call you back. Something's come up. I'll speak to you again in the morning" Stephen's jaw clenched even as he hung up on the master on the other end.

"The talk didn't go so well?"

He looked up and saw Wong standing in the doorway, in a dark blue dressing gown and looking grim, a book under his arm.

"It was Mordo who killed Hope in prison" Stephen spat rubbing his temples as he tried to soothe his temper.

"And?" Wong quirked a brow.

"And…and I think he might be trying to contact Olivia"

Wong's face paled to the same colour of the pages of his book.

"That's impossible. Nobody has her contact details save you or I and the Avengers."

"I know, and that's what has me worried" Stephen pressed his fingers together "But even if he has contacted her I don't think she knows about his involvement in the murders. If she did she'd not be this calm"

"No. She'd be heartbroken." Wong stated bluntly, eyes narrowing "Are you going to tell her then?"

"…not yet" Stephen murmured softly "She's been through a lot recently, she needs a break from all the drama and hurt. Besides we don't know what Mordo is planning and given how reckless she's been recently she might try to confront him and who knows how that's going to turn out"

"Whilst I agree with your decision there's no doubt she'll be angry at you for hiding the truth." Wong countered swiftly.

"Maybe. But I'd rather her be safe and angry, than be hurt or worse by a man who's falling from the deep end" Stephen looked up at Wong, his light blue eyes stern.

Wong's lips pursed into a thin line.

"Very well. But we must tell her at some point, before some Hydra agent tries to."

* * *

"I still can't get over how it got in-"

"Forget how it got in, what the hell was that thing?"

"Steve is right. Even I haven't seen such a creature before and I've been on adventures over all nine realms"

"And hopefully we won't have to again."

"Yeah because we have such _great_ luck like that"

"Shh-keep it down! She's waking up."

When Via opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a white ceiling above her head.

A white ceiling and a blur of a face as it slowly sidled into view. It was a pale face with halo of messy red curls

"Morning Sleeping beauty"

"Nat? What…how… Where am I? Bruce-the-the Hulk-"

"Shh take it easy. You've been out cold for a while" Natasha Romanoff smiled gently as she carefully helped the teen sit up, her entire body shaking uncontrollably as she looked around herself.

She appeared to be on a couch in the Tower's common room area with a rather thick throw blanket draped over her body. Around her stood Thor, Steve, Natasha, Clint and a very frazzled looking Pepper who was quickly striding up to her with a glass of water in her hands.

"Here, take this, it'll help you feel better" She handed the glass to Natasha who helped tip the water down the younger girl's parched throat.

She stopped to cough roughly vaguely aware of something wet nudging one of her hands.

"hey Bud" she whispered as the large hound huffed, plonking its head down over her thighs, staring worriedly up at her.

He wasn't the only one looking concerned. Half the room let loose a tense breath they'd been collectively holding together.

Indeed, Steve actually sat down in a chair and sighed heavily into his knees.

Now that Via looked closely at him, he seemed to still be in his sleep clothes, as was everyone else, and was that the rising sun she could see peeking over the horizon out the window?

She felt her heart sink in her chest from guilt.

"I'm so sorry" she gulped not daring to meet any of their eyes. "I've put you guys through hell again. This time under your own roof-"

"It wasn't your fault kid. At least not this time" Clint smirked as he came around to seat himself on the sofa by her feet. "Though it probably wasn't the smartest idea to trap yourself in the same room with an angry Hulk"

"Yeah…that was pretty dumb" Via scratched her head awkwardly. "How is Bruce? Is he still-"

"No, he transformed back shortly after you destroyed…that thing whatever it was" Steve grimaced darkly.

"It was a nightmare" she explained quickly.

"If by nightmare you mean the sick twisted lovechild of Alien and a giant leech then yeah I suppose it was." Clint snorted but Via shook her head.

"No. I mean nightmare as in a Nightmare Demon. An actual creature of darkness from the dream dimension that feasts on fear and leeches your soul from you bit by bit till there's nothing left but an empty shell" Via ran a hand through her now very tangled curls as she remembered the horrible screeching sounds echoing through her ears.

"You mean like a mardröm?" Thor frowned folding his arms.

"Yeah…Wait you know about them?" She looked up at the thunder god who nodded solemnly.

"I now of them. They used to be more prominent a threat when my father was still a youth, but then their numbers began to dwindle after the first war with the Dark Elves. In Asgard they're now more of a bedtime story, used to scare children into good behaviour."

"So what they're like the bogeyman or something?" Clint rolled his eyes.

"You laugh but bogeymen are real." Via narrowed her own gaze upon him dangerously "they're nightmare demons with more sentience than the others. Sometimes they possess the bodies of the people whose souls they've fed on and then they feed on actual flesh. But there hasn't been an actual bogeyman possession in years, at least not on American soil. According to the Order's records the last Bogeyman was dealt with during the Great Depression when the Ancient One sealed them in the Dream Dimension with the other nightmares-"

She paused to run a hand through her hair, swearing softly under her breath.

"Damn…of course…Should've known-"

"What? What's wrong?" Natasha frowned suspiciously as Via sighed.

When she spoke, her voice was slightly strained.

"The Ancient One died a few weeks ago, here in New York. If the spell to keep the demons out was cast by her then-"

"Then when she died whatever magic she might have used might have vanished with her" Thor finished gravely.

"Unless she bound the spell to a relic. But otherwise yeah…all her magic would come undone when she died…SHIT!" Via groaned into her hands "Shit-shit-shit! Why didn't I think of this before?"

"Uh, I don't know maybe because you've had a rough few weeks?" a new voice entered the room.

Via looked up as Tony loomed over from behind the sofa in a T-shirt and boxers, his eyes worn out with dark circles under them.

"Bruce is asleep. Gave him a mild horse tranquilizer in his tea to help him sleep it off. Don't worry Pepper, he asked me to do it." The billionaire added when his girlfriend's eyes widened in worry.

"So…that was a demon huh? Any idea who sent it so I can personally deliver a goodie basket of nuclear missiles to their face?" he looked at the room at large.

"We were just asking Vee that" Natasha explained calmly, though her eyes were hardened like steel "She was saying there might be a chance that an old spell has deteriorated and is now letting demons back onto our side here."

"From what I've read in reports most of the spell the Ancient One cast is still mostly intact, it just has a few cracks in it. It's either that or someone deliberately used dark magic to summon a demon. I can't be sure. I mean, if the demon still were here I might've been able to tell but because I destroyed it…Sorry…" Via's voice trailed away, guilt swelling in her gut.

"Don't be sorry." Clint's smirk softened consolingly as he gently squeezed one of her feet. "If you hadn't done anything the Other Guy might've done a lot worse than just throw a tantrum."

"Clint's right." Thor nodded "though, why were you in that room to begin with? We thought you'd gone to bed long after the movie?"

"I did try to" Via scowled grumpily as she took another sip of cold water "Honestly I did. But I just couldn't get to sleep. Then Buddy heard Bruce clanging around and he was set off, then this thing around my neck started glowing-" She pointed to the small blue and gold dreamcatcher around her neck that was faintly humming and glowing as it began absorbing the rays of the rising sun.

"-So I went to see what the problem was and hey presto I found Bruce, Hulking out in the lab with that thing on his chest!" she finished her story with a grumble. God her head was now starting to throb.

She hadn't used that much mystic energy in a long while. Even at the Hydra base she'd not actually used much magic at all. But that nightmare just took all she had from her. It had absorbed so much of Bruce's (and the Hulk's) fear that at one point she thought the Web of Asibikaashi would not work.

 _Well thank god it did because none of us would be here now…_

She blinked, the light outside the windows now blurring slightly as she let herself glaze out and bask in its light.

Seeing her dazed expression, Tony reached down to ruffle her curls.

"Come on Mission Impossible. Get back to sleep. You need it."

Via didn't need telling twice. She was out like a light as soon as her head touched the cushion beneath her.

As soon as they heard the soft piggy snores filling the room, Steve looked up at Tony tiredly.

"How is Bruce really?"

"Not good" Tony murmured rubbing his own tired eyes. "Nearly had to break down his door to even speak to him and even then, he shut himself up like a clam"

"Were his bags packed?" Natasha frowned, her fingers absentmindedly stroking their way through Via's curls in soothing fashion as the girl shifted where she lay.

"Halfway. Don't worry. I put everything back when he hit the hay. He isn't going anywhere anytime soon."

"Good." Steve nodded "It's bad enough he got targeted here, if it had happened to him out on the run…"

His voice trailed away, but no one needed him to finish the sentence.

"Does he remember what happened? How the creature got on him?" Thor asked stroking his beard.

"Only that he started feeling anxious just before we had dinner and he started feeling worse after that. From what he said, he seems to have blacked out just before he started transforming." Tony leaned against the back of the sofa. "but then he forced himself to watch the security feed and now he's guilt tripping himself."

There was a collective sigh from everyone in the room.

"Hey, come on" Steve scowled at all of them as he stood to his feet. "We all knew what we were signing up for when we chose to come live here. We all knew there'd be some growing pains and adjustments, and we're just going to have to learn how to deal with it."

"Capsicle's right. And speaking of dealing with stuff, who needs coffee, I know I do." Tony grunted as he made his way towards the coffee machine behind the nearby bar.

"Yeah a coffee sounds good" Clint groaned as he trudged after the man of iron slowly like a sleepy zombie much to the amusement of his fellow Avengers.

* * *

"Still no vord from the bosses?"

Cornelius Craven scowled sidelong at his brother as he put his keys into the car ignition.

It had been several days since the Avengers had rescued that blasted girl, and there had been no orders of pursuit from either Hydra or their new employer.

Well no surprise there. Hydra had suffered a huge blow now that one of their major bases had taken a hit. It would be a while till they dared make a move anywhere in North America, especially with Tony Stark's infernal Damage Control keeping watch over every single city in the country.

Yet their new employer, that strange woman, had also not made her move. She wasn't Hydra, he knew that much, and yet…

"Brother?"

"hmm?" Cornelius looked to his brother Sergei, who was frowning worriedly from behind his new sunglasses.

"I said, that vwoman still hasn't made her move. Do you think-"

"No" Cornelius snorted over his brother "She hasn't been spooked. She's probably using Hydra's movements as a distraction while she makes her moves in the shadows. Oh, speak of the devil"

He looked down to his phone and smirked as he recognized the number.

"Hello mam, we were just talking about you" he spoke as he switched the call to loudspeaker.

"Good things I hope" A woman's voice spoke sweetly through the receiver, though he could hear the derisive ice in her tones. "I have another errand for you both, one which I think you might enjoy. It might start out as long and tedious but the results are well worth the effort."

"We're listening." Cornelius grinned to his brother, who smirked back.

Finally things were starting to pick up for them.

"Wait, hold up a minute? You want me to come with you for what?" Via frowned up at Natasha and Pepper from where she sat at the kitchen island. It was one in the afternoon, she'd just woken up from her second power nap after the whole _Code Green Fiasco_ (as Tony so elegantly put it) when the two only other women in the Avengers tower had cornered her at her very late solitary brunch to ask her a very important question.

"A girl's day out. We go out shopping for clothes and junk. Maybe go to a salon get pampered. You know, girl stuff. I took this weekend off, so I could go shopping for the conference next week anyway, so I might as well have some company." Pepper shrugged as she nonchalantly chewed a raw carrot stick dipped in hummus.

"Right…and the reason for this is…" Via's eyebrows rose over her piece of toast.

"To chill out and relax." Natasha took a sip of coffee. "And get away from the guys for a bit, before Tony drags us into another Team Building exercise again"

"Do you think he still wants to go ahead with that plan? I mean, with Bruce hiding out in his room and all" Via looked worriedly at the doorway.

Aside from Tony's early morning report, she'd not seen hide nor hair of the scientist at all. Even when she'd quietly passed his doorway on her way to the kitchens his door had been locked, though she could hear the quiet padding of feet on the other side.

"Just give him time…" Pepper assured her gently "It's not easy for him opening up to new people about the Other Guy. He just doesn't want to risk hurting you again because he's mad at himself."

"But he shouldn't be mad at himself" Via huffed moodily through a mouthful of toast "It's that nightmare's fault he was feeling like that not his own."

"We know." Natasha nodded grimly "And so does he, but he still needs time to cool down and collect himself. From what you said those things have probably done quite a number on his brain. A little bit of down time might do him some good. As it would with you"

"I suppose" Via grumbled.

"I don't think I've ever seen a girl so _enthusiastic_ about shopping" Pepper smirked and Via flushed pink with embarrassment.

"Sorry. Its' not like I don't want to go, it's just…I don't know. I guess I'm still just worried about what happened. This nightmare didn't just get in here and pick Bruce by accident also…"

Via sighed rubbing her forehead. This weekend was not at all as relaxing as she had thought.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Natasha smirking down at her gently.

"Come on. Let's get a move on. Besides Tony and the boys are here, they'll look after him."

"I suppose. But won't it be dangerous-"

"Don't worry, Clint's coming along and then my private security will be there watching us from a distance in case anything should happen. That and we've also got Jarvis and Aura keeping an eye on us" Pepper pointed to Via's phone.

"I suppose" Via nodded quietly, quickly covering up the belch that threatened to escape her.

"Oh what the heck! Why not! I'll just make sure Buddy's taken care of before we go out"

"It's okay. We've got your dog covered Mission Impossible"

The three of them all turned their heads to see Tony walking in, covered in sweat and dust, holding a screwdriver in his hand.

"Once Steve and I finish repairing the lab, we'll take your beast to the park." He said as he gave Pepper a quick peck on the cheek. "And by we, I mean Steve, Thor, Sam and Bruce."

"You sure that's a good idea right now?" Natasha frowned but Tony waved her off.

"Yeah, sure as long as we go somewhere quiet. It might take a little convincing but we'll get him on board"

"Who knows, maybe a bit of fresh air might do him some good." Via shrugged in agreement and Tony quirked a brow at her.

"Via Summers agreeing with me? Has the sky turned purple or something?" he pretended to look outside for signs of the non-existent conditions.

"You do know you'll have to pick up dog crap if you do walk Buddy right?" She giggled, the sound mingling with Pepper and Natasha's laughs as the Billionaire scowled once more.

"And with that _lovely_ image in mind normality has been restored"

* * *

 _So that's how I ended up on a shopping trip with two of the most powerful women in the world. One a smart CEO of a massive company and the other a top assassin. Then there was Clint, another top assassin (but not a woman), sticking close to us under the disguise of our beast of burden (though we really did use him like a pack mule)._

 _At that point in time, the only time I'd been shopping had been with Stephen. Back then we'd only gone for the essentials as we were prepping for life at the Sanctum._

 _Ha-ha! I can still remember his awkwardness at the underwear store. HA! Priceless._

 _Needless to say I thought it would be awkward having Clint tagging along for the ride, only to find to my pleasant surprise he was actually quite on board for the whole operation._

 _And we're not just talking about the shopping. He even came in with us when we went to the freaking beauty salon!_

 _Most guy's I've met in my life would've been awkward about sitting in a beauty parlour (apart from Tony, who's used to having some stylist prep him for his big events) but Clint was as cool as a cucumber as he sat back and got pampered like a pooch. Heck! I'm a girl and I still feel uncomfortable whenever I get a makeover._

 _My beauty routine at home is usually, brush hair, wash face, a thin layer of lip balm and maybe spritz on some scented deodorant._

 _Apart from that I'm not too fussed really. Unlike some people…_

* * *

"Ah that's better" Clint smirked as he looked down at his nails. Normally he'd just trim the damn things off himself, but it was nice to see them all clean as a whistle and nicely trimmed down to size. It didn't hurt that Pepper was paying for all their sessions.

He looked around to see said CEO chatting with Natasha from where they were sitting and getting their hair washed by two lady hairdressers.

Via on the other hand was sitting near him, getting the finishing touches on her nails. Yet even as he watched her with the beautician, he could see her discomfort at being in such a position.

 _Probably the first time she's ever been in one of these places. Not that she really needs it._

He mused as he watched the young girl. She wore a pair of dark red converse with a blue denim shirt and jeans. Her blonde curls were loose framing her tense, forced smile as she nodded and thanked the beautician in front of her as the job was finished.

"So which colour did you get?" he asked as he walked over to stand next to her chair.

"Went with the gold. The pink was…not really my thing" Via blushed as she showed him her shimmering pale gold nails.

"Yeah. Definitely better than the pink" Clint nodded. "and what about the hair? Have you decided what you're gonna do about that? Nat and Pepper are already getting theirs washed"

"Yeah I saw…I dunno it's just…I've never let anyone cut my hair before, let alone style it" she murmured blushing sheepishly "Anyway when I cut my hair last year I used a pair of shears and ended up looking like half a blonde spoodle"

She grimaced as the memory washed over her. It felt like yesterday she had been dragged off the street and into Khamar-tarj by the Ancient One and had her head scrubbed half raw by a healer.

"Don't worry kid. Unlike you these guys are professionals, plus I doubt they'll shear you down like a sheep. Baa!" Clint fake-bleated like a sheep and was pleased to see her snort with laughter despite herself. "Tell you what if you're really worried, just get a wash, dry and trim and see how that goes."

"I suppose" Via shrugged as they both were led over to the back of the parlour where several women were getting their hair washed and scrubbed by stylists in the sinks.

Just outside the parlour doors, Via noticed a couple of suited security guards from Pepper's detail looking over their shoulders to keep watch on what was going on inside.

The guards had been vigilant in their duties to keep Pepper and her safe but had kept their distance seeing as the Black Widow and Hawkeye were both tagging along.

But what really had Via's heart sinking in its chest was the sight of the heavily made up fake blonde woman she was forced to sit next to as she leaned her head back into the hair washing basin.

"Oh crap" Natasha gulped as she and Pepper leaned over to see where their youngest friend had been seated.

But it was too late to intervene as Sophie Castor rolled her eyes angrily.

"Good grief, I was wondering what smelt bad in here. Now I know." she muttered throwing a very dirty look at Via who smirked.

"Says the woman who smells like she's shacked up with a flower patch."

And indeed, Via was not a fan of the very strong perfume that wafted into her nose from the woman beside her.

 _God, why do women do such stupid crap to themselves? I mean, it's one thing to want to smell nice but Jesus, don't kill my nose!_

She shut her eyes as she tried to block the smell, choosing instead to focus on the feel of the hands washing through her locks.

Her ears however were not quite co-operative and pricked up when the catty woman beside her sneered again.

"And I see you're going with the double denim. Che! How cute. Pity that it went out of style ages ago"

"So did acting like a bitch. Now if you don't mind I have better things to do than associate with the likes of you so unless you want another cake in the face, piss off." Via sighed, keeping her eyes shut.

She really wasn't in the mood to deal with Sophie Caster, or anyone else really. She had come out to relax and shop with friends and she was not going to let some prissy try hard bimbo try to spoil it for her.

She was spared any further confrontation when the seething older woman was quickly distracted by a stylist who had brought her colouring foil and tools on a tray.

"Wow you really know how to pick your fights don't you?" Clint snorted from his spot beside her and Via shrugged.

"No. I just don't have time for idiots" she muttered relaxing as conditioner was rinsed out of her hair by long fingers.

Soon after she was quickly hurried to a soft black leather salon chair right next to Pepper who glanced at her worriedly.

"Are you okay? Did she try anything again?"

"No, I put a cork in her before she could get very far" Via sighed as she let the stylist clipp the dark grey hairdressing robe in place around her neck.

"Now just you wait right here while I go get Cassidy" they said before swiftly dashing off to one of the back rooms.

"Alright" Via smiled, though it came up short as she caught sight of the sneering face of Sophie reflected in her mirror. She appeared to be looking over her shoulder at her, sniggering nastily at the woman colouring her hair, who seemed to be hanging on her every word. She stopped when she met Via's eye in the mirror, smirking as the younger girl forced herself to look away.

It wasn't easy. Inside her head both her own inner sorceress and Asmund were yelling at her to turn the nasty woman into a toad (or worse) and squash her underfoot. By god she deserved that fate for all those horrible words she'd said about her mother.

But no, Via shook herself, she had to be mature about this. She'd already screwed up once at Tony's party, and had only gotten away with it because he'd liked her spunk. If she lost her cool here she'd probably get in big trouble and embarrass herself even more.

As if sensing her discomfort, Pepper reached and placed a calm soothing hand on the girl's arm.

"I know it seems unfair, but people like Sophie come and go. Yes they may talk and they might try to tear you down, but they only do it because they themselves feel inadequate. The only reason Sophie feels inadequate is because she destroys herself trying to make herself look like someone else, rather than embracing what she really looks like."

"I know. Believe me I know that feeling" Via pouted irritably "but whether you feel insecure or not it doesn't excuse behaving like an ass."

"Hear, hear" Natasha grunted from Pepper's other side, looking up from the magazine she'd just been perusing.

Pepper sighed softly, only to be interrupted by the sound of clacking shoes on the floor.

"Ah Cassidy" she smiled wide as she greeted the newcomer.

Via turned around to see a very tall slender man wearing a black t-shirt and skinny black jeans with sharp looking trainers. His hair dark and curly and stylishly messy falling in the way of his dark eyes which were lined with black. When he spoke, Via was surprised to by the loud booming voice that escaped his smiling mouth as he leant down to hug and kiss Pepper on both cheeks.

"Pepper, love it's been too long. Where 'ave you been? 'ow're you 'oldin' up? Oh better still 'ow's the boyfriend holdin' up? I saw 'is accident on the news. Looked pretty nasty-"

Via blinked as she digested the tirade of words slamming into her ears. Listening to Cassidy was like listening to a typewriter that was wrapped with tin foil and then kicked down some stairs.

She was amazed that Pepper could even understand half the words tumbling out, or even how she could smile and respond so calmly.

"Oh, Tony's fine Cass. A little bruised and battered, and moping and groaning but he's fine and-"

 _Cass…_

Via felt her heart sting at the nickname. She wondered where Cassian was now? Was he alright? Was he still angry with her about his father's-

She was dragged from her depressing thoughts as Cassidy grinned and shook Natasha's hand.

"Natalie, always a pleasure."

 _Oh yeah, that's right. Nat's using a cover name today_

Via remembered quickly flashing what she hoped was a friendly smile as Cassidy turned to face her.

"And 'o's this lovely lady 'ere. One of your nieces Pep?"

"I wish, but unfortunately she is not." Pepper smiled as she gestured to a now blushing Via "Cass, this is Via Summers, Tony's new intern. Via this is Cassidy Barker a very good friend of mine and one of the best hairdresser's in New York"

"Nice to meet you Cassidy." Via shook Cassidy's hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Via. Now Pep, what can me and my girl's do for you today? Redo your bangs, maybe add some curls"

"I'm alright Cass, Nat and I just need trims. I was wondering if you could look after Via here. She's been working very hard for the past few weeks, so she deserves a treat."

"O-oh it's okay Pepper I'm fine really. I-I'll just g-get a trim" Via spluttered feeling her cheeks going redder than ever.

Cassidy smiled knowingly at her in her reflection, staring very hard at her stubborn curls that were already fighting back against the damp to return to their normal chaotic state.

"Hmm, a stubborn one, are you? Oh well, I like a challenge."

"Go easy on her Cass, it's her first time" Natalie smirked as she turned a page in her magazine.

"Don't worry, I'll be gentle. Besides I don't need to do much, she's got all the tools she just needs the manual. Unlike some people" he added, rolling his eyes as loud laughter hit their ears.

Via didn't need to turn around to know where the noise was coming from and nearly sank down in her chair as she heard Sophie's snort.

"Oh poor Cassidy, have they got you on babysitting duty? How sad."

Cassidy chuckled, a very forced hollow sound from a smile that didn't reach his eyes at all as he turned back to Via's reflection.

"How sad my foot. I feel sorry for the poor sod that has to babysit her arse today"

"What arse? She's flat like a board both physically and mentally." Via rolled her eyes before she could stop herself.

"That's terrible", Pepper chided only to burst into a fit of giggles, despite herself. Natasha on the other hand did not bother holding back the amused snort that escaped her as Via shrugged:

"I know, but truth hurts"

"Oh I know I'm going to like you." Cassidy chuckled as he began to clip up bunches of her hair. "Now I'm thinking…layers"

* * *

 _So there I was, getting my first proper hair cut in a beauty salon. I must admit it wasn't as bad as I first thought. True nowadays I rarely go into a salon because I can just use a spell to change my hairstyle, but it's still sometimes fun to go with friends and enjoy myself._

 _Anyways back onto my log. As you can see, I was (for the most part) having a blast. It was the first time in weeks I was able to relax and not look over my shoulder. True I was with two avengers and had a squad of bodyguards tailing my every move but it wasn't too bad._

 _Truth be told I was more worried about what was going on at the tower with Bruce…_

* * *

"Bruce"

Bruce Banner sighed as he heard a knock at his door. He looked at his half-filled suitcase on his bed, already occupied by roughly thrown bundles of clothes, books and the necessities.

He knew it was only a matter of time before someone came in again trying to convince him to stay. He'd said so from day one that it was a mistake to let him live at the tower. It was only a matter of time before he hulked out and ended up hurting anyone.

True he hadn't really hurt anyone last night, and half the stuff in the lab was easy to replace, but it had been a very close call.

 _I almost could've killed a kid._

He shivered in disgust at himself.

 _I almost could've killed a kid, all because I couldn't keep in control._

He didn't care if Tony had told him it was a magical monster that was responsible and not himself. If anything, that only made him even more frightened of staying. Whoever sent that creature knew he was vulnerable and had targeted him specifically, knowing what he was capable of in such a state.

They'd all be safer if he wasn't-

There was another knock at the door.

"Bruce? Can I come in?" he heard Steve's voice through the door.

 _Oh great now what?_

Bruce rolled his eyes to himself as he said:

"Yeah sure, why not. It's not like I could do any more damage" he mumbled the last bit to himself as Steve stepped through the door.

"Hey, you doing alright? We've got lunch on the tabl-" he stopped short as he caught sight of the suitcase on the bed.

"Still thinking about leaving huh?" he sighed as Bruce walked over to his closet and began rifling through the doors for underwear.

"No I'm not thinking. I **am** leaving and it's for the best" Bruce avoided the captain's eyes ashamedly.

"For the best?" Steve frowned. "Bruce you can't just run-"

"Oh yes I can. You saw what happened last night Steve. I almost could've killed you all. Heck I nearly did kill the kid. I can't let it happen again-"

"Then let us help you." Steve said.

There was a small jingle of metal and soft pants and a large flump on the bed.

Both grown men turned to see the four-legged form of Buddy leap onto the bed and start digging through Bruce's suitcase.

"Hey! Stop that you-" Bruce lunged forwards but already the large canine had emptied the suitcase and grabbed onto his favourite purple shirt and bound into the corridor.

"Damn that dog! Get back here!" Bruce ran out the door after the dog, Steve following hot on his tail laughing loudly.

"I suppose you think this is funny" Bruce snapped waspishly as they followed the dog around a corner.

"Well he did get you out of the room" Steve chuckled as they reached the common room where they found Tony and Thor standing with Bruce's shirt and patting its head approvingly.

"Good boy, you got tough guy out of the room. Hey Bruce, you feeling any better?"

"You sent a dog to steal my shirt?" Bruce stared incredulously at the Billionaire and Thunder God who smiled widely.

"Of course not. We just told him to find you and fetch you. The shirt was his idea"

"Except dogs usually aren't smart enough to think so arbitrarily" Steve folded his arms, smirking despite himself.

"And how would you know that Capsicle? Have you ever had a dog before? Are you a dog whisperer?" Tony rolled his eyes as said dog barked loudly. "There see he knows what I'm talking about"

"While it's true some breeds of dogs can be more intelligent than others in different ways, I have to agree with Steve. This animal is way too intelligent to be normal. I swear sometimes when we talk I feel as if he knows exactly what we're saying" and even as he said this Bruce locked eyes with the canine.

It almost seemed as if it were staring straight down into his soul.

"Well intelligence aside, he did his job well in retrieving you Banner" Thor scratched the dogs head.

"Retrieve? What am I, a ball?" Bruce said dryly as he reached to take his shirt from Tony.

"No. But speaking of balls-"

"and apparently your lack thereof." Steve muttered with a smirk.

Tony blanched, Thor snorted, and Bruce's eyebrows rose in astonishment.

"What? You think you're the only one to make a joke around here? I may be over ninety years old, but I'm not dead." Steve shook his head in exasperation.

"True, true." Tony conceded though he still looked a little disturbed by the captain's smug smirk.

"All jokes aside," Thor chuckled thudding Steve heavily on the back so that he actually jerked forward "Now that you are out of your room Banner, perhaps you might join us in a walk out to the park."

Bruce stared at his three fellow Avengers.

He'd almost beaten half of them up the night before as the Hulk, had shut them out for most of the day, and now they were resorting to using a dog to lure him outside his room, joke with him and invite him to take a walk…to a park…as if nothing was wrong…at all?

In the back of his head he could hear a little voice, that sounded eerily like Via's saying:

 _These people are so weird._

* * *

 _Sorry for the delay guys, Wong just popped in to remind me to take the trash out. He and Stephen are both going to Kamar Taj to teach some new novices so I'm going to oversee the Sanctum while they're out._

 _It's not too bad. True I'm not a full fledged master but with the amount of enchantments we've placed around the sanctum, everything should be fine and I can easily contact them if something or someone unexpected comes a calling._

 _And speaking of unexpected meetings…_

* * *

Peter Parker sighed as he trailed around the shop after the back of a very attractive brunette woman and her husband, his arms full of shopping bags. It was his Aunt May's birthday, and today his Uncle Ben thought it might be nice to treat her to a day trip out to Manhattan.

Normally Peter wouldn't have minded. He loved his Aunt May to death and was glad to see her looking so happy. And yet…

"Peter are you sure you're good carrying all this? Isn't it heavy?" Aunt May frowned concernedly as she looked back at him from the cashier.

"Yeah, yeah absolutely. But-but I'm fine really." Peter spluttered quickly, forcing a smile on his face.

Meanwhile in his arms, the bags that were filled to bursting, bags that should have weighed him down like an anchor to the sea floor, felt as light as feathers. Indeed, if it weren't for their cumbersome size and his skinny build, he felt like he could lift double the weight.

And yet even his body wasn't as skinny as it used to be.

What once were scrawny noodles for arms and legs had gained tone and muscle mass, and his stomach, that was currently being revealed by his shirt riding up, now had at least four abs in it that certainly had not been there a few weeks ago.

As he passed a nearby window Peter looked at his jeans in his reflection, which once had been slightly baggy, but now were uncomfortably tight around…well everywhere.

If his Aunt and Uncle had suspected anything of his rapidly changing body, they said nothing, or rather thought it was just a part of a regular teenage growth spurt.

But Peter Parker knew better. This wasn't just a fluke of puberty. This was the fault of that damned radioactive spider that had bitten him that day at Oscorp. The one that had bitten him just after he'd met…

He felt his cheeks heat up a little at the memory of a head of blonde curls and a pair of bright blue eyes smiling at him.

 _Yeah…like she'd ever remember that meeting. She's a pretty girl who could have any guy she wants and I'm just a geek. A geek who can now bend doorknobs out of shape if I don't concentrate on what I'm doing._

He pouted as he followed his Aunt and Uncle out of the shop and towards the mall's largest and most fashionable department store.

He sighed, doing his best to make himself as small as possible as he caught sight of the incredibly stylish men, women and teenagers strolling around the store in their trendy expensive clothes. While his aunt and uncle both were both dressed in smart casual attire, he had gone more for comfort and practicality with his red and blue sweater and shrunken jeans and trainers.

He'd never felt so out of place in his life.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice he was on his own until he looked up from the polished floor.

"Aunt May? Uncle Ben?!" he looked around for his guardian's familiar faces, only to find his view blocked by a sea of women's clothes on hangars.

 _Great! Can't see them. Nice going Peter. Why couldn't that spider give me great tracking abili-_

"Oof!" he winced as he walked straight into someone.

"Hey!" a feminine voice snapped only to mumble. "Oh…hi…"

If Peter thought his cheeks were red before, it was nothing compared to the magnificent shade of magenta over his skin as he caught sight of the head of blonde curls.

"V-Via hi!" he spluttered wishing he could vanish now into the floor. "S-Sorry I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Don't worry, neither was I" Via admitted flushing pink as she bent down to help him pick up a couple of bags that had fallen from his grip. It didn't help his blushing as he saw that her curls were nicely styled about her face or the way her slender curved behind was highlighted in her tight blue denim jeans as she bent down-

"I'm so sorry are these yours?"

"My Aunt's" Peter felt his ears burning red. "It's her birthday today so my Uncle and I are taking her shopping"

"And let me guess you're the designated beast of burden?" Via smiled.

"Something like that yeah" Peter grinned. "S-so, how've you been? How's the internship with Mister Stark going?"

"It's going alright, I suppose" she shrugged though she avoided his eyes as she coughed. "I'm actually here on a shopping trip with his girlfriend. She's got this big conference next week and wanted the company"

"You're with Pepper Potts. Here?" Peter's eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets. He'd thought she was too good to be true, now she was completely out of his league.

 _There's absolutely no way she'd ever want to go out with me, let alone be friends._

His depressing thoughts were interrupted by her sigh.

"Yeah, it's nice."

"You don't sound too enthusiastic" Peter frowned before he could stop himself.

Via chuckled. "Yeah well…don't get me wrong, hanging with Pepper-I-I mean Miss Potts is great and all. She's quite cool, it's just that…well it's been hectic"

"You mean with Mister Stark's car crash? It was all over the news" Peter explained and Via nodded.

"Yeah and it's been a rollercoaster let me tell you" she sighed again, quickly forcing a smile on her face as she looked back up at him.

"So your Aunt's birthday huh? You guys must be close"

"Yeah well…I kinda live with them actually. My parents aren't exactly uh…" Peter trailed off.

"Not there?" Via's smile softened gently. "Yeah me too."

"You're an orphan?" Peter wondered aloud. He'd not expected that. He'd expected her to belong to some rich, high class snobs that lived in a penthouse.

"Yeah, but I-I live with Doc-I mean my _legal guardian_ so it's alright." Via coughed cheeks pink again.

"Doc?"

"He's a doctor. Or rather ex-doctor."

"That's cool. My Uncle's a science teacher" Peter found himself blurting out much to his inner chagrin.

"Wow, that must be awesome. Bet you ace all the science stuff at school huh?" Via winked.

"Well…yeah I guess. I mean I love science a lot and uh… And you? What's your favourite subject?" he coughed, cursing himself mentally.

 _Smooth move Peter. Smooth._

"History." Via smiled shyly, tucking a stray golden lock behind her ear. "I really like history. Ancient and Modern. I know, I sound like an absolute nerd huh?"

"What no-no-that's not nerdy at all. Why would that sound nerdy? You just like history and…and…" he trailed off as he looked down to his toes, feeling his ears burn like a furnace. Great now he made her feel embarrassed.

He was grateful when he heard a couple of voices call out:

"Hey! Vee? Via?"

"Peter! Peter are you still there?"

"I guess we're being summoned" Via smirked and despite himself Peter laughed.

" _Summoned_? What are we, Genies of the lamp?"

Now Via chuckled as well, the sound reverberating off the walls of his head. It was a nice sound.

"Olivia!"

"I'll be there in a sec" Via called rolling her eyes as she jerked her thumb over her shoulder.

"Well…I guess I gotta go. It was nice seeing you again Peter"

"Yeah, uh-huh, it was nice seeing you too" Peter nodded vigorously only to cry out as she began to walk away "Wait! Via!"

"Yes?" Via stopped, her big blue eyes blinking up at him. The effect was such that it made the butterflies in his stomach turn into raging dragons.

"I-I-I-Can we talk again? Like on facebook? Or-or something-I mean you don't have to if you don't want to-I-I just thought-"

"What? Oh yeah. Sure, why not. We're friends, aren't we?" Now it was Via's turn to turn scarlet.

"Yeah I guess so." Peter mumbled, the corners of his mouth twitching up in a nervous smile. His predicament wasn't helped when she gave him a full wide smile.

"Then I guess I'll talk with you later. Bye" and with that she quickly dashed behind a coat rail lined with long women's dresses.

"Bye" Peter called after her, though his word ended in a waver as his brain was overcome by his snarling inner voice.

 _"Can we talk again?" What are you, five? Just ask her out goddammit!_

 _Ask her out? No way, she'd shoot me down in five seconds…besides she said we were friends._

 _Friends…Friendzoned…_

"Real smooth Peter Parker, real smooth" Peter Parker sighed to himself as he walked through the isles of clothes and towards his concerned looking Aunt and Uncle, unaware of the girl on the other side of the floor also cursing herself mentally.

* * *

 _"We're friends aren't we?" Wow, real smooth genius. I can't believe I was that dumb._

Via groaned as she quietly meandered her way over to where Natasha was standing by the end of the long clothes isle.

"A friend of yours?" the Assassin folded her arms.

"Just a guy I met when I was walking around Oscorp." Via muttered, hoping against hope that she appeared aloof and cool headed. However unfortunately for her, her cheeks were still a deep shade of vermilion.

"Just a guy huh?" Natasha smirked "and?"

"And what?" Via gulped, blush deepening as she was led into what appeared to be a private dressing room reserved for VIP customers.

"Did he ask you out? Or did you ask him out? Which was it?"

"No we just agreed to chat? Why the hell are you so interested?"

"Who's interested in what?" A voice called out and Via and Natasha both turned to see Pepper peeking her head from around a curtain.

"Little Via here was talking to a guy just outside?"

"A guy huh? Was he cute?" Pepper smiled winking mischievously at Natasha. It had been a long time since she had last indulged in simple fun gossip.

"Like a Labrador puppy. Vee couldn't take her eyes off him."

"Oh yes I could." Via snapped waspishly, cursing her cheeks as her blush deepened if possible, even more as Nat pulled out her phone.

"I don't believe-You took a picture?" she scowled.

"Just as a precaution. Just in case he tried anything so that we could ID him but here-" The spy smirked as she showed Pepper the photo.

As soon as her eyes caught sight of the brunette head of hair and the youthful face, Pepper smiled.

"Hmm…a bit geeky but I can see why you like him."

"I don't like him, I mean I do because we're friends-but not in that way!" Via spluttered "Besides I doubt someone like him would ever want to go out with someone like me"

"Bullshit, the guy was drooling all over her like she was a tall drink of water" Natasha rolled her eyes adding under her breath "God I swear sometimes you're worse than Steve".

"Who's worse than Steve?" Clint poked his head through the door behind. "Oh by the way Vee, that's a nice little boyfriend you picked for yourself."

"Oh crap, not you too," Via facepalmed "he is NOT my boyfriend! I barely even know him for crying out loud!"

"But you'd _like_ to know him, wouldn't you?" Clint dug her side with his elbow, only to wince as she _accidentally_ stomped hard on his foot.

"Idiot" Natasha sighed.

Pepper just smiled, her heart clenching painfully as she quietly retreated behind the curtain again. Even though Via was embarrassed she was still far happier than she had been this morning. Heck it was the first time she'd ever seen her act her age. The change it had on her face was startling. No longer was she the stressed-out sorcerer's apprentice. Now she was just a girl, who liked a boy and didn't know what to do about it.

 _She's still just an innocent kid…_

So why did Hydra want her so badly?

No! She shook her head out. No, she couldn't think about that now. She had a conference to prepare for and only one day to relax and enjoy herself and that would be what she'd do.

Still even as she joined in the teasing again, she couldn't shake off the horrible prickling feeling on the back of her neck that she was being watched.

And not just by her bodyguards.

* * *

 _So there I was, meeting Peter for the second time. Had I known what would've passed in later years I might have avoided that meeting altogether but…_

 _*sigh* Never mind what's done is done I suppose. And truth be told, no I probably wouldn't change a thing about that meeting, or indeed any other meeting between us before…_

 _Well…I guess you'll just have to wait and see huh?_

 _Anyways while I was being mercilessly teased I remained completely unaware of the dangers still lurking in the background._

* * *

"I can't believe it." Sergei Craven muttered in disbelief from his spot on the department shop floor. He'd done well to conceal himself behind a few railings, which kept him out of eyesight from that damned Black Widow and her bird-brained colleague.

But that wasn't what had him rolling his eyes in disgust at his brother.

"She talks with super soldiers and gods on a daily basis and yet she blushes for this…little… _geek_?"

"Different strokes for different folks, Sergei" Cornelius Craven snorted as he pretended to examine a long trench coat on a hangar. "Though I don't see why this affects you so much?"

"It doesn't. It's just…it confuses me, iz all. That girl could have her pick of any guy, and this is the one she-It doesn't make any sense."

"It confuses me too. But we aren't here to critique her love life. We just need to keep an eye on her from a distance until our new friend gives us the say so."

"Speaking of distance, ve should leave soon. I see Stark's goons are still patrolling the floor and I don't think they'll appreciate our being here when they see uz."

"For once I agree with you" Cornelius nodded grimly as he caught sight of a suited man walking in their direction.

"Quickly, they've already spotted us. I told you not to wear that jacket-"

"By ze Gods vwould you stop vith the nagging! I svear your worse than mom."

They both dashed away, not noticing the face of a blonde woman half hidden in a corner smirking as she watched them run.

 _How quaint. They think just because two of them are Avengers they are safe enough to stroll around as bold as brass._

Her smirk only widened as she caught sight of the young blonde girl and her three chaperones exiting the change room, all joking and chatting. The blonde's cheeks were still a deep shade of pink even as she quickly scanned the room.

The woman's smirk vanished for a split second as her shrouded eyes met a pair of frowning bright blue orbs.

* * *

"Mom?" Via mouthed softly. But even as she blinked the blonde woman had disappeared.

"What's the matter Vee? Spotted your beau again?" Clint sniggered.

"No-no. I just thought…never mind it was nothing" she shook her head and scowled up at the archer "And what the hell's a beau?"

But even as Clint continued to tease her, her mind continued to whir uncontrollably.

There was no doubt about it, she could've sworn she'd just seen the living breathing face of her mother standing right in that corner.

 _But that couldn't be possible…could it?_

* * *

 **Dun-Dun-DUUUN! and there we have it! chapter 14 is up. i figured i'd leave you with a long chapter to make up for my absence.**

 **So Via's having a little break and she meets Peter Parker again. As its only been a couple of weeks since he got bitten by the spider, Peter still hasn't made much progress in becoming Spiderman. I figured though he'd still be starting to notice all its effects and he's currently in the mode of "what the hell do i do with myself" kind of panic. And who sent the nightmare demon to Bruce and what will he do next.**

 **Speaking of our dear Avengers, I just saw Infinity War a week ago and OMG! OMFG! WTF! Like seriously i just...i can't believe the ending! (Spoiler alert) i can't believe they decimated half the goddamn cast, especially poor Peter and T'Challa because they've only just made their debuts (God i loved Black Panther, it was so awesome).**

 **I mean i knew they'd kill off some characters and that half of them might come back because they're already going to be in movies after Avengers 4 but how could they just rip out my heart like that? Damn you Russo brothers, completely making me rethink some of my plots for Via's future (though technically i should also thank them because it's helped me fill in some plot holes i was trying to fix).** **I was also so sure the Soul Stone might've been in Wakanda and it wasn't!**

 **Let me explain. Before Infinity war i thought the Soul Stone was in Wakanda because I thought that the heart shaped herb was growing from above the place where the soul stone was buried in the ground. I figured that would explain why T'Challa was able to connect with the souls of his father and ancestors when he ate the herb, not to mention it could've explained why Vibranium might have been so present in Wakanda (as i thought it might have been formed at the crash sight of the Soul Stone when it came down to earth). But it looks like that theory has bit the dust :( Dammit!**

 **Anyways, sorry about the rant. truth be told i was quite happy with the movie as a whole but i'm still sorta mad as well because half my faves were destroyed by that clicking bloody giant grapefruit Thanos!**

 **And on that note i will leave you guys to read. If you enjoyed please review, they give me strength to write amidst my hectic life.**

 **Cheers**

 **FuzzyBeta**


	15. Authors Note Dreamchaser ON HIATUS!

Hi everyone,

This is just an author's note to say that this fic will be put on HIATUS. I'm NOT abandoning it, it's just a bit stuck for what to write so it's just gonna be put on the backburner for a bit until I get more inspiration to write the full plot. So yeah It may be a while till I actually update this fic.

In the meanwhile, I am starting up another Avengers/Dr Strange/MCU fanfiction starring our favourite Spider Sorceress called:

* * *

 _ **Dreamwanderer - The Lost Avenger**_

 _When Thanos snaps his fingers, half the world disappears and so do most of the Infinity Stones. Armed with only the Time Stone, Via Summers must leap through time and stop the Infinity War before it happens. There's just one hitch; she cannot tell anyone about her mission or who she truly is. Will Via find the stones in time, or will the Mad Titan destroy her universe yet again?_

* * *

It's sorta kinda an alternate universe to the Dreamcatcher series. Basically, Via travels back in time to save the world and stop the infinity war though there are rules and different challenges she must face with certain consequences. It will reference events from Dreamcatcher and Dreamchaser (and may even contain spoilers for the latter) but will also be standalone plotwise.

I will just be putting it under the Avengers category however it will cross over into nearly every Marvel movie (as apparently, FF does not have a giant MCU category which we can just put fics that span over more than just two crossover MCU movies together).

I'm super excited to get this fic out there as it has been gestating in my brain since I first watched Infinity War.

And so just to repeat, I'm not dropping this fic. It's just on hiatus until my brain can figure out what to do. In the meanwhile, I'm just going to churn out this other idea of mine until I can get over this writer's block.

Anyways, thank you for all the support so far for this fic and I hope you guys will tune in and enjoy Dreamwanderer when it gets posted up.

Cheers,

FuzzyBeta


End file.
